


The Life of Us

by kyloshux



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-15 03:38:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 30,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14151129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyloshux/pseuds/kyloshux
Summary: [PJO HOO AU]The soulmate fic where your life is only filled by different shades of gray until you lock eyes with the person you're destined to spend the rest of your life with.





	1. Chapter 1

"It's as if.. a waterfall of happiness just splashes on you." 

Wide, wondrous eyes, stared up at the thirty year old woman as she spoke. She had signs of wrinkles forming around her eyes, cheeks, and mouth from so many years of laughter and smiles. The woman had deep brown irises the color of dark chocolate. They mirrored the color of her skin that seemed fit for a goddess. Her hair was pulled back into a bandana to hide the fact that it was falling out from the young child.

"You and Papa?" 

The small three year old girl sat on the beige carpet floor, in between the legs of the older woman as she played with her Winnie the Pooh teddy bear. She had the same chocolate brown eyes as her mother but a shade or two lighter skin, resembling that of toffee. Her wild hair was being braided back by shaky hands but the young girl didn't have half a mind to even think about it. 

The two were sitting in the living room of a one bedroom apartment that sat on top of a boulangerie. It was a humble home that didn't feel too small or too large for the two girls. It was large enough to fit the two and the woman's large array of candles and other objects necessary for her religion. 

"Me and Papa, babygirl. One day, it'll be the same for you and the person you'll end up falling in love with, whether it be a boy or a girl."

"A pretty one?" 

The woman smiled fondly as she finished the braids and patted the young girl's shoulders. The small child giggled and turned around before climbing up the woman's legs to sit on her lap. The woman let out a puff of air but laughed it off, tickling at her daughter's sides. The slight pain was worth hearing the giggles fall from the young girl's lips.

"As pretty as you want, Erie." She hummed, rubbing her daughter's cheek with the back of her hand 

Erieanna Laurie Bellerose was Katya's first daughter. It seemed as if she'd be her only one, with the older woman's state. Katya, the mother, didn't mind. Her daughter was her greatest accomplishment, even if the young girl had only been on this earth for a few short years. 

The woman knew her time was limited. Her doctor told her that it would only be a few weeks, a few months at most. That was two months ago and she knew her time was quickly approaching to less than a week or two now. Rather than spend the rest of her time stuck in a hospital bed, Katya wanted to make it worth it and spend it with her daughter. 

The woman knew that only shortly after, or possibly before, the wolves would come for her daughter. Her lover, Erieanna's father, had warned her of this before. She's been awaiting this. Maybe that's why she hadn't called any of her family members to ask if they could be her daughter's guardians. She knew that Erieanna would be safe wherever those wolves would take her. Safe with people that were like her. 

"Together forever, Mommy?" The young Erieanna asked, her wide eyes looking up at her mother 

The smile on Katya's face was both fond and melancholy," Always, princess. No one breaks us apart."

The small child giggled and pushed herself up to hug her mother around the neck. Katya let in a deep breath before exhaling out slowly, her eyes closed as she hugged her daughter back. She didn't know what she did to deserve this beautiful creation but she was grateful. 

Erieanna slid off of her mother's lap to go run off but, the older woman, with greater strength than she thought she had, gripped her daughter's forearm in her hand.

The young girl looked up with wide eyes, confusion laced in them. She didn't say anything, waiting for what her mother wanted to say. 

"Stay with me for a bit, chère. You wouldn't want to leave your mama alone, would you?" 

"Never, mama." Erieanna smiled, sitting by her mother's feet 

The woman smiled fondly down at her daughter, her mind wondering back to her lover. Erieanna had so many of his features - his dark skin, the slight upward slant of his eyes, the speckles of gold in the seemingly obsidian irises. He had been the one to bring color into her dull gray life. 

The couple had only known each other for a few months, eight, before Katya was pregnant with their child. The man had revealed his true self to her shortly after. The twenty-five year old woman had fallen in love with a Roman god. 

He came to see the two at least two to three times each month, defying the strict rule implemented by Jupiter, the lord of the gods. Katya was filled with love whenever he came. He showered her and their daughter with so much love and gifts. They were far too spoiled. 

"Mama," Erieanna said, looking up at the woman," When's papa comin'?"

Her mother smiled fondly, rubbing the back of her hand on Erieanna's cheek," Soon, babygirl. Papa's gonna take such good care of us, chère. He's our gris gris, baby. The loa brought him to us."

"Gris gris." The tiny girl repeated, nodding in approval 

Katya was a firm believer in the positive effects of voodoo. Through her religion, of course, was where she had met her beloved in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was All Saints' Day when she had met him. She had been at the crypts when a beautifully dark man had sparked a conversation with her. The moment their eyes locked, Katya was able to note how all the colors that she had been taught in her schools when she was younger were coming true. With the color introduced into her life, the man was even more beautiful. She had lit her candles and prayed to her loa that evening to keep that man in her life. 

"Mama, dodo." Erieanna mumbled

To prove her point, the young child yawned cutely as she rubbed at her eyes with the paws of her onesie that she was wearing for bed. Katya looked up at the clock that was on the wall across from her, placed a few feet above the small television set of theirs - 10:30 p.m. 

"Oh, chère, I didn't know it was so late. C'mon, beb, off to bed for you." Katya smiled softly, standing up and heaving a big sigh at the tight feeling she felt all over her body. 

The woman held her daughter's hand in her own as she led her into their shared bedroom. Erieanna put her arms up and Katya chuckled, picking her daughter up and setting her down in her crib. 

"Colors?" The small girl asked 

Her mother smiled fondly as she tucked the young girl in, handing her her adorable Princess Tiana plush toy that she adored sleeping with," You see colors when you see your soulmate. Whenever your soulmate is close to you, you'll always see color. Whenever they're away, you go back to seeing gray. The gods and our loa made it like that to make sure that our lives would be free of pain and sadness." 

"But no colors?" 

"Some people might never meet their soulmate. Their lives would always be gray." 

The small girl pouted and hid her face behind her doll. The older woman chuckled softly, watching as her daughter slowly pulled her doll away. 

"I wanna see you, Mama." She pouted 

Katya's smile was bittersweet," Not just yet, beb. When you meet the love of your life, yes."

Erieanna only hugged her plush doll closer to her body, clearly deeply saddened by this. Her mother rubbed her cheek with the back of her hand to soothe her. 

"Erie, chère, you have to listen to me on this, okay? Can you do that?" Katya asked

The young girl looked up at her mother and nodded," Yea, Mama."

"I'll always be with you, no matter what, chère, even if I won't be here physically. Your papa's gonna take care of you. He'll make sure you'll grow up to be the incredible woman I know you'll be." The small child just stared up at her with wide eyes, not truly understanding the meaning behind her mother's words. Katya just smiled sadly," Sweet dreams, beb. Mama loves ya."

"Love you." Erieanna mumbled before yawning once more and closing her eyes, wrapping herself around her plush Princess Tiana doll as her mother watched her silently

She only wished she had a few more years or at least months with her daughter instead of days.


	2. Chapter 2

12 years later 

Jaw clenched and fist balled up around the beautiful eleven inch Stygian glass sword of hers, Erieanna Bellerose watched silently as the girl across from her analyzed her.

She was her mentor, best friend, and Praetor of the Twelfth Legion, Reyna Ramírez-Arellano. Gods, was she gorgeous. Her long hair was always kept in a braid to keep it from bothering her. The sixteen year old had a beautiful frame to her face and had exceptionally dark eyes in which you couldn't see any gray in her irises. The upward tilt of her head and hard set of her face would intimidate others that didn't know her. Erieanna couldn't care less for that. The two had known each other for so many years, there really wasn't anything that could faze the younger girl. 

Reyna was the one to strike first. She rushed towards Erieanna from across the arena but the younger girl only sidestepped. The other anticipated this and swung her blade towards the girl from the back. With a small smirk, the dark skinned girl spun around and hit Reyna's hand with the butt of her sword, catching the older's blade in her free hand. The two stopped as the girl held a sword on either side of her opponent's neck. 

"You've been getting too slow, chère." The young girl said 

"And you've," Reyna responded as she kicked under the girl's feet, sending the two to the ground with their swords scattering a few feet away,"been getting too arrogant."

"Guess that Graecus has gotten to me." 

Erieanna had a cocky smirk on her full lips, placing her hands on Reyna's hips as the older girl sat on her lap because of the fall. The older girl could only roll her eyes as she looked back down at the dark girl. Memories of them kissing and being close all those months ago flooded her mind but she knew that couldn't happen any longer. She had her duties as a Praetor to maintain. She couldn't let her pleasures interfere with her work. 

Rubble sat around the arena, reminding them of the battle they had fought valiantly the night before. Reyna's dogs, Aurum and Argentum, sniffed around the rocks, looking interested, before getting bored and laying down on the ground with their heads on their front paws. The two girls were still so exhausted. They had barely gotten any sleep. 

The two had spent the night trying to salvage anything they could from all the wreckage. Even when the other campers had fallen asleep, drained from the battle, Erieanna and Reyna stayed up until the late hours of the night to figure out a way to be able to restore Camp Jupiter to its former glory. 

Erieanna sat up and the two girls sat staring at one another before Reyna surged forward and kissed the younger girl deeply. Reyna's hips were gripped while the older girl's hands reached up to cup her friend's cheeks. The two had been going at this for months even after they ensured that they wouldn't. At the back of both girls' minds, they wished they were soulmates. But, alas, the gods weren't that benevolent.

Reyna pulled away moments later, her eyes hardening as she saw the satisfied smirk on the younger's lips,"Wipe that smirk off your face before I do it for you." 

Erieanna couldn't help but notice the small smile on her best friend's lips and laughed softly,"It'd be more believable if you meant it, Rey."

"Just shut up. We have to get going or we'll be late for the Senate meeting."

Reyna stood up and went to reach for her sword. The younger only watched her silently, her mind reeling back to the night before. She could feel that much worse was to come to her camp in the near future. She only wished she knew how to stop it.

Erieanna stood up and grabbed her sword, flicking her wrist and smiling softly as she watched it wrap itself around her wrist into a beaded bracelet. 

"Are you coming with me?" Reyna asked her after putting on her toga, her cape, and medals. 

The fifteen year old girl only shook her head,"I have to go get ready, probably take a quick shower. I'll meet you there with Hazel and the others."

The older girl nodded slowly before opening her mouth,"Just friends." The dark girl cut her off before she could even speak,"Don't worry, I know."


	3. Chapter 3

Before Reyna could say anything, Erieanna had slipped into the shadows, appearing in the Fifth Cohort, a hint of a smile on her face when she saw her sister, Hazel Levesque, amongst the others, rushing to get ready. 

"Erie! Hey! Are you okay?" The small teenager asked her 

Hazel came from New Orleans, just like Erieanna, except a few decades older. The girl was technically much, much, older than Erieanna but, was considered younger as she had died and was resurrected (long story) at the age of thirteen. She had skin probably two or three shades darker than the older girl with extremely light eyes and unruly dark hair. She was an inch shorter than Erieanna, at 5'3, but was deadly with her spatha and her horse, Arion.

With different last names, the two girls were only truly related by their father - Pluto, the god of the dead and underground riches. Erieanna knew of her parentage from when she had arrived at Camp Jupiter at the age of three. Rather than have her run with the wolves all the way to Camp, her father had taken her himself, to ensure the safety and protection of his daughter. Camp Jupiter was like her family until she found her true family with Hazel and Nico diAngelo, her brother. 

"Yeah, yeah, fine." Erieanna forced a smile as she went towards her bunk and grabbed a towel, a pair of shorts, a clean camp shirt, and a white toga 

"Er..." Hazel said softly, looking up at her sister with a concerned expression

The girl sighed, stopping before entering one of the shower stalls and turning back to the younger girl, "Reyna problems, as per usual." She then stepped into the shower, shedding her clothes off before turning the water on

Erieanna and Hazel were walking down to the mess hall fifteen minutes later, talking amongst themselves. The older girl got over her qualms with Reyna. It was her own fault for give in to her own desires. Reyna's only focus was the camp and New Rome. That was understandable. 

"Guys! Wait up!" Erieanna turned her head to see Hazel's two friends, Frank Zhang and Percy Jackson, going down to meet up with the two girls

Frank Zhang had a buff body but a head that seemed to belong to a baby. His skin was maybe a shade or two darker than white except for the mark of Mars on his upper right forearm, two crossed spears, SPQR, and one horizontal mark, symbolizing his first year of service to the legion. 

The boy next to him and a wide grin on his face as he waved to the two girls. He was two or three inches taller than Frank  with unruly black hair and extremely light eyes. He was darker than his friend but it was most likely because of how much time he's had in the sun. He was a son of Neptune - no, Poseidon - and was made Praetor in the short week he had been at Camp Jupiter. He wore the white toga, like the other three, but, much like Reyna, had the dark cape, armor, and medals. Like the other Romans, he had the symbol of his godly parent, a trident, with SPQR and one mark under it. Out of their group of four, Erieanna was the one that had the most marks - twelve horizontal lines under why seemed like a hieroglyph for her father, Pluto, and the SPQR.

"Hurry up or we'll all be late." Erieanna stated, crossing her arms

"Quit fretting, Erie." Percy chuckled as they all resumed walking down to the mess hall,"It's not that big of a deal. We've got, like, an hour until the Senate convenes." 

"Easy for you to say when you don't have Reyna breathing down your neck." She responded, fingering at her beaded bracelet

He snorted before looking up at the sky, sighing happily, "It's such a nice blue today." 

Erieanna rolled her eyes at this, her hands balling up into fists at her sides. She always got so annoyed whenever she heard others speak of color. It was bad enough she couldn't see it. She didn't need to have it shoved at her face. 

They ate breakfast quickly before making their way to New Rome.The four passed by Terminus and handed him their weapons before walking down to a small café as Percy wanted something else to eat before they sat down at the Senate House. It amazed Erieanna how much the boy could eat without ever truly being full. 

"I wanted to show you guys something." Percy stated after his third blueberry muffin 

Erieanna's curiosity was peaked as the son of Poseidon took a scroll out from under his toga. It looked ordinary, just a piece of parchment rolled up but, when Percy laid it flat on the countertop, a pre recorded video appeared.  

"Ella and Tyson gave this to me before we met up with you guys for breakfast." Poseidon's son reasoned

A boy, probably around her age, popped up in the video with a crazed grin on his face and wild eyes. He looked scrawny but it was still noticeable that he had muscles on him. He had unruly curly hair and wore a seemingly white shirt but lit was hard to tell with all the stains all over it. He was cute, if Erieanna had to admit. Cute in the sense that he looked like a Latino Santa's elf with the way how his ears stuck out from his hair. 

Erieanna noted how nicely the warm tone of the boy's face matched with how dark his hair was. She then stopped herself and blinked twice. She was seeing a color other than white, gray, and black.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and pointed at the boy without turning to look at her other friends, afraid that if she turned her attention away, the color would disappear,"What's that color?"

"Oh, um..." Frank tried to think of a way to phrase it,"It's brown and a sort of caramel color for his skin but, they're kinda a variation of black and some grey in it."

That was impossible. Erieanna couldn't possibly be seeing a color. Her eyes were deceiving her.

"Hey!" said the guy in the video. "Greetings from your friends at Camp Half-Blood, et cetera. This is Leo. I'm the..." He looked off screen and yelled: "What's my title? Am I like admiral, or captain, or—"

A girl's voice yelled back, "Repair boy."

"Very funny, Piper," Leo grumbled. He turned back to the parchment screen. "So yeah, I'm ... ah ... supreme commander of the Argo II. Yeah, I like that! Anyway, we're gonna be sailing toward you in about, I dunno, an hour in this big mother warship. We'd appreciate it if you'd not, like, blow us out of the sky or anything. So okay! If you could tell the Romans that. See you soon. Yours in demigodishness, and all that. Peace out."

The parchment then turned blank. Erieanna shifted her eyes to her friends and chewed on the inside of her cheek. She had just been imagining things. She turned her eyes back to the parchment and it was as dull of a gray as it could ever be. She stifled the growl of frustration that was threatening to spill out of her. 

"I wanted to show it to you, Erie." Percy said, rolling the parchment up 

"What for, chère?" She asked the boy but, she already knew the answer to it 

"She only ever really listens to you, Erie. She has to understand that this is how we mend the riff between the Greeks and Romans." 

Erieanna shook her head, sighing, "Come on, we don't wanna be late to the Senate meeting."


	4. Chapter 4

The dome of the Senate House was caved in because of the the previous night's battle. Reyna sat atop her Praetor seat in the front of the room. Erieanna sighed, glancing up at Percy before making her way over to the Praetor, chewing on the inside of her cheek anxiously.

She signaled Reyna to stand up and the older girl complied, her eyes mixed with a slight sign of confusion in them. The meeting wouldn't convene for another five minutes which, hopefully, would give Erieanna enough time to convince the Praetor to trust Percy with what he wanted to say. 

"What is it?" Reyna asked, a ways away from the growing crowd in the building 

Erieanna sighed, "Percy's going to have this announcement. He told me about it and.. I trust him on it. If he's right, it'll save his and our camps-"

"There's another camp?" 

"He'll explain everything. Just... hear him out. They're his family, just like how Camp Jupiter is ours."

The younger girl then turned to go sit with her friends, wiping her sweaty palms on her toga. Erieanna could feel the piercing eyes of the Praetor on her but, she did nothing about it. They weren't even supposed to be showing any affections in public. To everyone else, the younger girl was only the Praetor's second in command. 

"Guess I better join your girlfriend up there." Percy told Erieanna with a cocky smirk and wink 

"She's not my girlfriend." She told him coldly, glaring at him as she made her way over to sit at the first level with Hazel and Frank

Erieanna, Queen Hylla (Reyna's sister and queen of the Amazons), Frank, and Hazel sat in the front row with the senators. Veterans and ghosts filled the back rows. Tyson, Percy's Cyclops half-brother, and Ella, a red harpy, sat in the back with them.

"Think she'll listen to him?" Hazel asked her sister softly

The girl only shrugged,"I told her I trusted him, which is not something I say about many people. I hope she takes that seriously."

Octavian, a descendant of Apollo and the camp's augur, had spent fifteen minutes at the front of the Senate House, pacing back and forth while trying to counter what Percy had said about the dream he had the night before about Juno and the Prophecy of the Seven. Erieanna had just about had it with that scrawny blonde idiot.

"Why should we even trust these Greeks?" The boy asked 

"Because we have one as our Praetor." Erieanna responded coldly,"I suggest you sit down, Octavian. It isn't your place to question what our praetors command."

"The camp is safe, Erieanna." Octavian refuted. "I am grateful our heroes brought back the legion's eagle and so much Imperial gold in our legion's honor! Truly we have been blessed with good fortune. But why do more? Why tempt fate?"

The girl stood up, her hands folded in front of her, "Gaea is awakening. This prophecy, it has been foreseen that we'll have seven demigods save us from the destruction the Earth Mother would bring us. We already have three of those seven, as shown with the strength and persistence they've shown in these past few days, especially in last night's battle. It doesn't take a child of Minerva to know that the other four demigods on that warship are a part of that prophecy. I wouldn't be surprised if one of those four is our lost leader - Jason Grace."

The Senate House was filled with hushed silence at Erieanna's words. More than once before had she had this effect on others. Even from Reyna, she's been told that she had a strong way with words. The girl was never truly used to the attention she got from that. Even so, the young girl kept her stance, her head held high and her eyes cold. 

Jason Grace, the camp's former Praetor and son of Jupiter, had disappeared for months and left Reyna to lead all alone. Percy tried to explain, before Octavian had gone off on his rant about Greeks, that Juno, Hera for the Greeks, had switched the two leaders in preparation for the seven demigods to sail to Rome and Greece together. 

In all honesty, a small part of Erieanna was a bit happy that Jason had disappeared. The two had gotten to Camp Jupiter around the same time, the boy only a few months later than her. Even so, he got far more attention than her because of the fact that he was Jupiter's son. 

The two had grown up to be best friends, probably better friends than Erieanna was with Reyna. Nevertheless, Reyna had gotten close to the boy after he was promoted to Praetor after the battle on Mount Othyrs for his success in killing the Titan Krios. A part of Erieanna was resentful. Sure, what she and Reyna had wasn't exclusive but it meant something. Reyna obviously couldn't care less with her desire for the son of Jupiter.

She knew it was selfish of her but, she couldn't help feeling that way. Even so, Erieanna felt a part of her had been gone with Jason gone. He was like a brother to her and she had lost him. She just hoped he was on that ship. 

Octavian couldn't say anything as all around the Senate House, people were nodding their heads in agreement with Erieanna's words. The girl kept her cold stare on Octavian until he was forced to sit down. Her eyes shifted over to Percy who sat on the Praetor chair beside Reyna's, looking at her with a grateful expression. She sat back down beside Hazel, exhaling slowly, watching as Percy stood up.

"Gaia is waking," The boy said. "We've defeated two of her giants, but that's only the beginning. The real war will take  
place in the old land of the gods. The quest will take us to Rome, and eventually to Greece."

The Senate House was rustled with an uneasy feeling. The son of Poseidon nodded sympathetically and Erieanna sighed softly, hoping he knew what he was doing. 

"I-know, I know," Percy said. "You've always thought of the Greeks as your enemies. And there's a good reason for that. I think the gods have kept our two camps apart because whenever we meet, we fight. But that can change. It has to change if we're to defeat Gaia. That's what the Prophecy of Seven means. Seven demigods, Greek and Roman, will have to close the Doors of Death together."

Erieanna turned her head to look around the building. Fellow senators, lars, and veterans all looked uneasy. They glanced over at the girl, to see what she'd say. She chewed on the inside of her cheek. She was always the one the looked towards before hearing Reyna's final words. 

"I trust Percy on this." She stated, turning her head to look up at the new Praetor, "He restored glory and honor to our Legion last night. Greek or not, he proved himself a true hero and friend of Rome. We must give him the same trust he has given us."

"The demigods of Camp Half-Blood have already been working with Camp Jupiter," Percy said. "We just didn't realize it. During the Titan War last summer, while you were attacking Mount Othrys, we were defending Mount Olympus in Manhattan. I fought Kronos myself."

Erieanna choked on her own spit while Reyna, who had been standing, backed up, almost tripping over her toga. 

"You...what?" The daughter of Bellona asked

"I know it's hard to believe," Percy said. "Even I still don't believe it but, I think I've earned your trust. I'm on your side. Hazel and Frank – I'm sure they're meant to go with me on this quest, like how Erie has said. The other four are on their way from Camp Half-Blood right now. One of them is Jason Grace, your old praetor."

"Oh, come on!" Octavian shouted," He must be making this up."

Hazel grabbed at Erieanna's forearm before the girl could retaliate. She clenched her fists. She didn't know how Reyna could put up with this brat. 

Reyna frowned, "It is a lot to believe. Jason is coming back with a bunch of Greek demigods? You say they're going to appear in the sky in a heavily armed warship, but we shouldn't be worried."

"Yes." Percy looked over the rows of nervous, doubtful spectators. "Just let them land. Hear them out. Jason will back up everything I'm telling you. I swear it on my life."

"On your life?" Octavian looked meaningfully at the senate. "We will remember that, if this turns out to be a trick."

"He hasn't lied to us yet." Erieanna reminded the augur, "I doubt he has any incentive to do so now."

A messenger came running into the Senate House, gasping as if he had run all the way from camp, "Praetors! I'm sorry to interrupt, but our scouts reported a-"

"Ship!" Tyson finished happily, pointing at the hole in the ceiling. "Yay!"

Sure enough, a Greek warship appeared out of the clouds, about a half a mile away, descending towards the Senate House. As it got closer, Erieanna could see brown shields glinting along the sides, billowing sails and a familiar-looking figurehead shaped like a metal dragon. On the tallest mast, a big white flag of truce snapped in the wind. 

Erieanna felt a lump forming in her throat, as she saw a slight amount of pigmentation rather than the usually dull colors that she saw. Although not vibrant, the girl could see at least some color. It confused her beyond compare but she didn't voice her concerns. It wasn't anything she couldn't handle. 

"We must attack!" Octavian shouted, "This is nothing but a trick! A deception! They mean to attack!" 

Erieanna turned her eyes over to Octavian, noting how pasty he looked even with color, "If they wanted to attack us, they would have not flown in so closely. They would have opened fire by now. They come in peace, or do you not see the white flag?"

Everyone's eyes turned towards Reyna, whose expression was hardened as she studied up at the warship. Erieanna hoped that she had listen to what they had been arguing about this past hour. 

"Hold your fire," Reyna finally said. "But have the legion stand ready. Percy Jackson is your duly chosen praetor. We will trust his word – unless we are given clear reason not to. Senators, let us adjourn to the forum and meet our ... new friends."


	5. Chapter 5

"Erie.. thank you." Percy said softly, looking down at the girl walking beside him as they stepped out of the Senate House

Erieanna looked up at him, the lump still in her throat as she saw the soft tones of color he had that just complimented him so well, "For what?" 

He chuckled, turning his eyes over at Hazel and Frank that walked a few feet in front of them, their hands brushing against each other ever so softly, "I don't think I would have been able to convince everyone else to stand down for the Greeks without your help." 

"I didn't do anything extraordinary." The girl refuted, shaking her head as she fingered at her beaded bracelet, "I just spoke on what I believed was right."

Percy rolled his eyes, "You're too humble. If it wasn't for you, that warship up there would probably be blown to smithereens. They listen to you. They respect you. They follow you. I'm surprised you're not Praetor yet." 

Erieanna felt heat rush to her cheeks as she looked away from Percy, playing at her white toga still wrapped around her body. She never really reacted to praise that well. It always made her feel a bit weird inside. She was taught to have a harsh exterior, to never let anyone break through her barrier. That pertained to anyone that wasn't a friend of hers.

"Proper elections haven't been held yet. I want to be chosen fairly." She told him

"I think you'd be doing a better job at this than me. You already are and you don't even have the title. You saved my skin back there." The boy chuckled softly 

"I just say whatever comes to mind. And.. you're family now. We're supposed to look after each other, cher." She told him, a small smile on her full lips 

He grinned and slung his arm around her shoulders, "I can't wait until you meet my other family. If all goes well, maybe you'll adore them too." 

"Hopefully they're not as annoying as you." 

"Hey!" 

Erieanna snorted at his hurt look but couldn't really do much as they finally joined the growing crowd of Romans, both from New Rome and the camp. 

The young girl glanced up at her cousin who still had the wide grin on his face, "I do hope that everything goes well. Octavian doesn't take swears lightly." 

Erieanna had an urge to ask him about colors, about the colors she was now seeing. But, there was no way she could bother him with a question like that when he looked so content just looking up at the warship. 

She chanced another glance at the son of Poseidon before leading the way through the crowd, thankful that the people were mindful enough to allow her to pass through, even making way for her to go further into the crowd. At the back of her head, she thought back to what Percy had said about the people following her and respecting her. Maybe that truly was the case. 

Erieanna was the first to emerge from the crowd. She stood beside Reyna, taking note of the tall girl standing across from them. She had the same shirt Percy had been wearing the first day he had arrived at Camp Jupiter but the words spelled out Camp Half-Blood. She wore shorts with a dagger strapped to her side, a pair of sneakers, and her hair pulled into a ponytail. 

Her startling grey eyes turned to Erieanna and the girl looked her up and down, analyzing her. The smaller girl didn't waver from her erect posture, her eyes staring back at the other. 

Percy finally came out from the crowd and stopped when he saw the tall girl. He formed a upturned smirk as he saw her and the two stood like that for a few moments before rushing towards each other. Erieanna didn't have to guess that this was the long lost girlfriend her cousin had told her about as they held each other close and kissed like there was no tomorrow. 

Erieanna took her attention away from the show as she heard her best friend's name and watched as the world around her got even more colorful. 

From where the tall girl had been standing, three demigods appeared, one of them being the adored Praetor of the Twelfth Legion and Erieanna's oldest friend, Jason Grace. The boy had slightly outgrown his usually extremely cropped hair, yet, was proudly wearing a toga and a purple cape, the symbols adorned by a Praetor. He had grown an inch or two taller since the last time Erieanna saw him and had a sword strapped to his belt, slightly confusing her as she remembered his golden coin that he cherished so much. 

He was then followed by a girl who was probably three inches shorter than him with tattered jeans, sneakers, and a white shirt with what seemed to be Hello Kitty designs. She seemed to have choppy brown (that was the name of the color Frank has said) hair tied into a braid with a feather in it. 

The last person was that Leo boy from the video. Another flash of color appeared, the colors seeming more vibrant as she analyzed him. He was scrawny and probably only an inch or two taller than her. He had his hands pushed into the front pockets of his jeans and was rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. Erieanna could already feel the annoyance bubbling in her.

She turned her attention back to Percy and the mysterious girl, chewing the inside of her cheek nervously when she saw the vibrancy of the colors go away. The son of Poseidon was saying something to the girl before she grabbed his wrist and flipped him around, making him slam his back onto the ground. 

"Stand down!" Erieanna shouted to those who surged forward to try and aid Percy

"If you ever leave me again," The tall girl said, her knee on Percy's throat, "I swear to all the gods—"

Erieanna didn't know if her cousin was truly sane as he began laughing with a knee to his throat. 

"Consider me warned," Percy said. "I missed you, too."

The girl rose and helped her boyfriend up. Percy kept that wide grin on his face and once again, Erieanna questioned the sanity of the son of Poseidon. 

Jason cleared his throat. "So, yeah....It's good to be back."

The boy introduced the other two that were beside him. The girl was named Piper McLean and the boy was Leo Valdez. The boy was too busy tinkering with something in his hands that he only looked up for a brief moment, waved, then went back to playing with whatever he had. 

"And this is Annabeth," Jason said. "Uh, normally she doesn't judo-flip people."

Erieanna glanced over at Reyna before turning her attention back to the small group of Greek demigods, "I am Erieanna Bellerose, second in command for the Praetor." 

Jason smiled when he heard her speak and she gave him a soft smile in return. She missed her friend. 

"Jason's talked a lot about you." Annabeth stated, holding her hand out for Erieanna to shake 

The girl concealed a smirk that was forming, "Percy's never stopped talking about you." 

While the two girls spoke, Reyna ordered a welcome feast in the honor of the arrival of the Greek demigods. Erieanna still felt uneasy about the color that was now introduced into her life but, still didn't say anything. She couldn't let that cloud her thoughts. Not now. 

"Why are we letting these.. these intruders into camp? You can't be-"

Erieanna clenched her hands into fists as Reyna responded to the boy,"No one said anything about letting them into camp, Octavian. We'll be eating here, in the forum."

"Wow. Much better." The boy grumbled,"Please, let us bask in the shadow of their warship."

"Have respect for your Praetor, Octavian. We will welcome them. Go burn an offering to the gods." Erieanna told him 

"Yeah." Percy said," Go burn your bears."

"You have my orders." Reyna stated, trying to hide a smile," Go."


	6. Chapter 6

"Oh gods, I've missed you." Erieanna breathed out, burying her face in her best friend's chest

Jason chuckled, wrapping his arms around her tightly. The two embraced a ways away from everyone else. Unlike Percy and Annabeth, Erieanna liked her privacy. 

"I missed you too, Erie." The boy responded, placing a kiss to her temple 

She pulled away from their hug and had a small frown as she studied him," You seem.. different."

"Different? How? He asked, turning his head to the side in confusion

"I.. don't know yet. But, it's a good different. You seem more at peace."

"And you seem more stressed. Has Reyna been giving you a hard time while I was gone?" He joked lightly 

She forced out a laugh before changing the subject,"I wanna tell you something incredible later. I.. I don't even know how to explain it."

"Yeah, yeah. Of course, Erie. C'mon, let's go join the others." He gave her a soft smile 

Jason kept an arm slung around Erieanna's shoulders as they walked back towards the forum, just like before. A small smile was on the girl's lips, thankful to have her friend back. It was selfish of her, having that part of her happy about him being gone. He had done so much for her in all the years of them knowing each other.

Sets of couches and low tables were carted into the forum until it resembled a furniture showroom. Romans lounged in groups of ten or twenty, talking and laughing while aurae swirled overhead, bringing an endless assortment of pizzas, sandwiches, chips, cold drinks, and fresh-baked cookies. Drifting through the crowd were Lares in togas and legionnaire armor. Around the edges of the feast, fauns trotted from table to table, panhandling for food and spare change. In the nearby fields, the war elephant, Hannibal, frolicked with Mrs. O'Leary, and children played tag around the statues of Terminus that lined the city limits.

Jason sat beside Piper and Erieanna sat between him and Hazel. An aura gave the girl a sweet smile and gave her a plate and goblet. Another left her a sandwich with french fries, chips, and a few cookies. A third poured in some Sprite for her in her goblet before winking and going someplace else. 

Reyna had Octavian and a few others of her officers come to sit with the eight demigods in their group. Introductions were done once more before stories from both sides were shared. 

Jason started, talking about how he had woken up, attending a field trip with Leo and Piper before being found by Annabeth and a boy named Butch. He spoke about having to free Juno from a prison made by one of Gaea's titans, Porphyrion, at the Wolf House but not truly regaining all of his memory until a few weeks ago.

"So," Jason continued, "that's how we found out about the earth goddess Gaea. She's still half asleep, but she's the one freeing the monsters from Tartarus and raising the giants. Porphyrion, the big leader dude we fought at the Wolf House: he said he was retreating to the ancient lands—Greece itself. He plans on awakening Gaea and destroying the gods by...what did he call it? Pulling up their roots."

Percy nodded thoughtfully. "Gaea's been busy over here, too. We had our own encounter with Queen Dirt Face."

Percy recounted his side of the story. He talked about waking up at the Wolf House with no memories except for one name—Annabeth. He talked about remembering color when he was with her but then being in gray when he wasn't. 

Apparently Leo decided to listen in to the conversation as he looked up from his food with wide eyes, as if realization had dawned on him. He even did a little jump as he looked around himself.

"What is it, Leo?" Piper asked him 

"N-nothing. Go back to the story, Percy." The boy stuttered, probably still overcome with shock

Percy continued his story, telling their group of how he'd traveled to Alaska with Frank and Hazel—how they'd defeated the giant Alcyoneus, freed the death god Thanatos, and returned with the lost golden eagle standard of the Roman camp to repel an attack by the giants' army.

All the while, Leo was scanning around their group of demigods before stopping on Erieanna. The moment their eyes locked, the colors around her were far more vibrant than she had imagined. The boy's eyes slightly widened and she chewed on the inside of her cheek, ducking her head down and turning her attention to her sandwich. 

He was her soulmate? That couldn't be possible. Out of all of the people in the world, it had to be him?

The others continued talking and the two stole glances at each other from time to time. He was sitting at the end of their couch and she sat four people down from him. They couldn't communicate without interrupting the others so they only looked at each other for brief moments, not wanting to be caught by the others either. 

At one point, the two shared small smiles, caught by Reyna. The Praetor watched as Leo and Erieanna continuously glanced at each other. It was unnerving for her as there obviously had to be something between them. 

"Erieanna?" The girl turned her attention away from Leo and to Reyna when she heard her name be called 

"Yes, Reyna?" She asked hurriedly, chewing on the inside of her cheek nervously

"Are you alright?" The daughter of Bellona asked, raising an eyebrow as she shifted her gaze to Leo, who had his eyes on Erieanna once again, before looking back at the girl

Erieanna blushed before looking over at Leo once more, "I'm fine. I was just deep in thought. What is it?"

"We were speaking on the decision about who should now be Praetor, as we have three. What do you propose?"

Erieanna's eyes shifted from Percy to Jason, "They're both great leaders and have proven themselves worthy. This seems like a matter we should settle for later rather than worry about now. There are more pressing issues to worry about, like the Prophecy of the Seven."

Reyna nodded slowly, the knuckles of her chair turning white as she gripped the arm rests extremely tightly, "Octavian, do you have it committed to memory?"

"Of course," he said. "But, Reyna—"

"Recite it, please. In English, not Latin."

Octavian sighed. "Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall—"

"An oath to keep with a final breath," Annabeth continued. "And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death." 

Everyone stared at her—except for Leo, who was constructing something out of aluminum foil, bolts, and some other metal. Erieanna was intrigued by the boy. They had said he was a son of Hephaestus, of Vulcan. She could already tell that he was skilled with his hands with how calloused they seemed. He seemed so quiet for someone who she had perceived to be so skirmish and bouncy.

The boy looked up and found Erieanna staring at him. She cleared her throat, looking back down at her food and grabbing a cookie. Gods, she acted as if she was a schoolgirl. Leo watched her with a small smile and rising blush before going back to his tinkering.

"Some of the prophecy is becoming clear." Erieanna turned her attention back to the conversation, avoiding the smoldering gaze from Reyna as Annabeth spoke, "Foes bearing arms to the Doors of Death...that means Romans and Greeks. We have to combine forces to find those doors."

Hazel picked up what seemed like a large ruby from the edge of her plate and slipped it into the pocket of her denim shirt. Erieanna had this as a difference to her sister. She herself could conjure up underground riches but, unlike Hazel, they weren't cursed.

"My brother, Nico, went looking for the doors," she said.

"Wait," Annabeth said. "Nico di Angelo? He's your brother?"

Erieanna turned her eyes to Annabeth with a slight nod, "He's our brother. He disappeared looking for the Doors of Death. I have an ability to know about deaths or whether a person is living but..."

"We'll find him." Percy promised the sisters, "We have to find the Doors of Death anyway. Thanatos told us we'd find both answers in Rome—like, the original Rome. That's on the way to Greece, right?"

"Thanatos told you this?" Annabeth asked. "The death god?"

"My praetors!" Another messenger came walking to the group and Erieanna prayed that it wasn't anything too serious to alert them

"What is it, Edwin?" Reyna asked, looking up at the boy

"Preparations need to be made for tonight and there are all these new accommodations we must-"

"I am entertaining our guests. I couldn't-"

"I'll do it." Erieanna offered, everyone's attention turning towards her, "There's really not that much I can do here, besides eat. It's no worries for me."

The Praetor nodded in gratitude, "I will be there soon to aid you."

"No need." The daughter of Pluto responded as she stood up, "I'm capable of handling myself."


	7. Chapter 7

Erieanna sighed softly, twirling one of her braids through his fingers. She had spent the last hour helping with whatever duties Reyna usually did. She wanted to unwind and the best place for her to do that was at the arena.

The girl left her white toga discarded on the ground. Surrounding her were three Roman warriors with swords and shields. Those shields wouldn't really help them anyhow. 

At the back of her mind, it bothered her that she didn't see any color once more. She only had an hour or so of it when she was sitting near Leo. Now, all she saw was grey. It was unnerving. 

Erieanna gave the boys a curt nod, telling them that they could begin. She held her sword in between her two hands, waiting for them to make a move. 

A soft smirk played on her lips as the boy from behind her charged at her first. She turned and hit his helmet with the butt of her sword before he could react, watching as he crumpled to the ground easily. 

The other two boys came to her but she rolled and swiped her leg from under their feet, resulting in them falling down to the ground as well. She did all of this without even breaking a sweat. It was far too easy for her. 

She waited for the boys to get up and gather their wits. They looked at each other uneasily from under their helmets, as if realizing that they had underestimated Erieanna. She may be short, but get in a fight against her, whether it be hand-to-hand or with a weapon, and her size wouldn't mean anything. 

The three warriors charged at her all at once and she snorted, letting them come at her. She deflected all of the blows from their swords that they attempted to hit her with. She managed to slash at one with her sword, making sure the cut wasn't deep but good enough to send him to the ground once more. The other two seemed unfazed as they tried to get something from her. 

Erieanna then saw the gray around her start changing its' hue into actual color. The two boys were oblivious to what the girl was experiencing and continued charging towards her, one of them kicking at her chest. The girl widened her eyes in confusion and accidentally tripped over herself, falling and hitting her back against the ground. Perfect timing. 

"Erieanna!"

Leo had been wandering around the camp aimlessly, not really having a mind to himself as he played with whatever his hands could find in his tool belt. He had found himself going in the direction of the arena and noticed the colors forming around him and could only guess that Erieanna was in there. His suspicions were answered as he saw that she was in the middle of fighting off a trio of warriors. Before he could truly study her, she had fallen back because of a blow she had gotten to the chest, throwing her to the ground. The boy immediately ran towards her, his heart pounding harshly against his chest and a lump in his throat. He only just met her but, he didn't like seeing her hurt.  

The boy that Erieanna had managed to hurt had stood up. When the four Romans heard Leo's cry, the three warriors had turned, brandishing their shields and their weapons as a way to protect the daughter of Pluto. Leo skidded to a halt a few feet away from the Romans, trying to sneak a glance at the girl but, she was shielded away by those warriors. 

"Stand down, guys. He's a...friend." Erieanna stated 

The three boys complied, letting down their guard and turning to help her up. She rolled her eyes, perfectly capable of getting up herself but, accepted the help, thanking them and telling them that they could go since their session was over. 

Leo waited until the three guys left before walking up to Erieanna's scanning his eyes over her body to check for any bruises, "Did they hurt you?" 

"They wouldn't have if you hadn't startled me." She responded, moving away from him and turning around to look for her sword 

It wasn't too far off, only a couple feet away but, the girl reached her hand out and watched as her sword was lifted up off of the ground and came soaring towards her. Gods, she loved how underground riches essentially meant anything. In that way, wherever her sword was, she was able to have it come to her with only having to extend her hand. 

"Woah!" Leo whistled, "Now that's sick."

Erieanna rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she flicked her wrist, watching her sword materialize into her beaded bracelet and wrapping around her wrist. 

"I stand corrected. That is sick." Leo grinned, his eyes still wide, "You do magic or something?" 

"Something like that but, that wasn't what just happened here."

The daughter of Pluto walked over to the stands and sat down, watching as the boy followed after her. He had a little skip in his step, as if he was happy to be with her.

She studied the boy, and the color that he brought to her. The only name for a color she knew was brown. He seemed to have so many different shades of brown all over him. It complimented him well. 

"What's the 'something like that', then? And what is it that you just did?" 

He sat so close yet also at a distance so the only physical contact they had was their knees touching. It seemed.. reassuring to the girl but, she didn't want him to know that so she moved a bit further away from him. 

"I can control any underground riches. My sword is made out of Stygian iron, which is made in the Underworld so, whenever I call to it, it comes to me. It was also a gift that when I move my wrist, it turns into a bracelet. Really handy."

Leo cracked a grin and chuckled, "That was funny."

The girl raised an eyebrow before realizing what she had said. She blushed and let out a soft laugh, shaking her head at herself. The son of Hephaestus watched her, his heart warming at that small gesture. Maybe making her laugh was a way to crack through her harsh exterior.

"You didn't answer my other question." Leo edged on 

Erieanna rolled her eyes, looking down at her bracelet as she began fingering at it, "Whenever it's deemed necessary, I'm able to do spells. I don't really use it unless I absolutely need to. It just reminds me of..." 

The boy noticed that she stopped herself from continuing on. His eyes watched as she scratched her nails against her bracelet. It must have been something bad if it spooked her like this. 

"I was walking around this camp cause, y'know, all the couples were being coupley and, honestly, ya boy didn't want to be caught up in the middle of it. So, anyway, I was walking and I kinda just saw color again so I went looking for you."

Erieanna let a small smile play on her lips, "Well, you found me." 

Leo snorted and shook his head, "I um.. I'm not going crazy, am I? Tell me you see what I'm seeing." 

The girl looked around then turned back to Leo, "I don't know what there's to see, cher. We're in an empty arena." 

The boy's shoulders slumped and he looked away from her, looking down at his feet. Erieanna's heart broke in two seeing him like that. She didn't know him but, she was an empathetic person. 

She tentatively put her hand over the one he had resting in the spot between them. The boy frowned and turned his attention back to her, " C'était une blague. I was only joking, cher. Yeah, I see the colors."

"That accent of yours is gorgeous. Just like you." He told her with a smirk on his lips

"You always tryna sauce girls up like that?" 

"Only the ones that catch my breath away."

He had gotten closer to her but she didn't say anything about it. She even let him turn their hands around so that he could lace their fingers together. She felt her heart skip when he did so. Gods, she was such a schoolgirl.

"So, I'm guessing a lot then?" She raised an eyebrow, amused at the boy

"None of them have given me the attention you do."

"Seems like a downright shame. I think any girl would be lucky to be with Repair Boy." 

He laughed and shook his head, looking away from her, "So I guess you saw the video too." 

Erieanna snorted, "Me watching that video saved you guys from being blown out of the sky." 

He chuckled, bringing their joined hands up to kiss the back of hers as he kept his eyes on her, "Te doy las gracias, mi amor."

"De rien, cher."

Leo opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something, but was cut off by someone calling Erieanna's name from one of the entrances of the arena. The two teenagers turned their heads to see that it came from Reyna who stood with her two dogs at either side of her and her hands clenched so tightly into fists that her knuckles were white.


	8. Chapter 8

"She seems mad." Leo whispered over at Erieanna, even if Reyna was still over five feet away from them as she continued walking towards the duo 

"She always does. It's in her nature." The girl muttered

Reyna stopped a foot away from the two, her eyes scolding. The younger girl looked back at her calmly, raising an eyebrow as if questioning what she would do. Leo, on the other hand, squeezed Erieanna's hand tightly. He obviously wasn't accustomed to this. 

"Do you need anything, Praetor? I was sure I carried out all the tasks that required your attention." The daughter of Pluto stated 

"I need to speak to you, Erieanna. Privately."

"I was just about to show Leo around camp so, if that can wait till-"

"Now, Erieanna."

"It's okay," The curly haired boy whispered over at the girl beside him as he rubbed the back of her hand comfortingly with his thumb, "I can leave-"

"No." Erieanna told him, "Stay here. It'll only be a few minutes."

She gave him a small smile and leaned over, giving him a prolonged kiss on the cheek. When she pulled away, the boy had his mouth slightly agape. Reyna, however, swallowed down the anger biting to come out of her mouth as she turned and walked to the end of the arena farthest away from Leo, her cape billowing after her. Erieanna saw her reaction and frowned in confusion at the girl as she followed after her. This wasn't like her. 

"What's wrong, Reyna?" Erieanna asked softly 

"What's wrong? What's wrong? You being with that.. that elf is what's wrong." Reyna seethed, her eyes glaring down at the younger girl 

"Are you going to do anything about it?" She asked, crossing her arms and standing her ground," What's even the matter with you? So what if I'm talking to someone? Now I can't talk to people? That's hella low, Reyna, even for you."

"Gods, I saw you two at the feast and I saw you two now. Why am I not surprised that the place you brought him to was the place where we've always escaped to?"

"I could be getting it on with him in the baths for all I care and you still wouldn't be able to do anything because it's not your business what I can or can't do. For the record, I was training here, not that I need to explain anything to you." 

Leo watched on from afar the two girls arguing and he had a nagging feeling that it was probably because of him with the amount of times Reyna pointed at his direction. He turned to tinkering with whatever his nervous fingers could find in his tool belt to keep himself occupied. Even so, as their voices got higher, he could practically make out what they were saying.

"Gods, it's like everywhere I go, I see you with someone new. Do you just not care?"

"Why do you care?" Erieanna responded, "Why now? You never truly cared about me. What we had months ago wasn't even real. We were both drunk for that kiss and too stupid to function even after that. You wanted to continue on with it but of course right after you get your job as leader of the camp, you couldn't give two shits about me."

"That's not-"

"I listen to you run your mouth all day, Reyna, every single day. You stay quiet for these next few minutes." The girl said angrily, not caring for the tears pricking at the sides of her eyes, "You ignored me, alienated me, for Jason, someone who I love dearly and think of more as a brother than as a cousin, and I still thought you felt something for me. That stupid kiss this morning was a mistake. You're a mistake. Now, I'm trying to befriend the guests that we have, and you're getting angry at me? You saw that Jason now has a girlfriend, that isn't you, and you want to come for me? That's a really, really, shitty and selfish move, Reyna."

The girl's black eyes stared down at her pointedly, "I think you've forgotten that you're mine, Erieanna."

"I'm no one's! I'm my own person! You don't tell me what and what not to do. Gods, you might think you exert power over me, but you don't. Don't forget that, without me, this camp wouldn't listen to half of what you say."

Reyna's eye twitched as she clenched her jaw, her hand reaching for her sword. The air around them was frozen with tension before the Praetor let her hand fall to her side. 

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to entertain our guest, Praetor." Erieanna said, turning around and walking back over to the stands


	9. Chapter 9

"Hey, are you okay?" 

Erieanna looked up at Leo, who was honestly not that much taller than her, who was regarding her with a concerned expression. 

The girl had been giving the son of Hephaestus a tour around the camp for the past forty-five minutes. He had gotten bold enough to hold her hand through the middle of the tour. She hadn't said anything, only squeezed his hand in response as she continued talking about the cohorts and the barracks. Leo had grinned widely and joked about some random thing, making Erieanna roll her eyes and shake her head. Some time later, she had stopped holding his hand, probably because she had caught someone staring. Leo didn't mind, their hands were still brushing against each other's.

"Fine, yeah." The girl responded, looking away from him and around them 

They were standing in front of the Field of Mars, taking a break from walking around Camp Jupiter. Leo could tell that something was bugging the girl but he knew so little about her, he didn't know what to do. 

"You know.." Erieanna said softly, exhaling slowly, "I've always adored these fields but, now with you, I can actually appreciate its beauty."

She didn't really like being so emotional around others but, she felt a sort of safety around Leo which was weird. She didn't think he could protect himself, let alone her. Leo looked from the girl to the rocks, frowning in confusion. 

"They're just rocks." He stated in a matter-of-fact way

"It's the beauty of the destruction in it." Erieanna said, rolling her eyes at him, "And now, with color, I can see the contrast between this whole field and the rest of camp." 

He didn't really understand it but, he let her have her moment. She seemed so happy and so at peace despite what had happened not so long ago.

Erieanna glanced up at him," I wanna take you to my favorite spot in camp. The sun'll be setting soon and I think it'll be perfect to watch from up there."

"Uh.. up where?" Leo asked nervously 

"You ever shadow-traveled before?" She ignored his question as she led him into the Field of Mars, thankful that the sun was soon to be set as the rocks were able to cast long shadows on the ground 

"What's that?" 

Erieanna smirked softly, "This'll be fun then. Don't let go of my hand." 

Leo had no time to react. One minute they were standing in front of those horrendous rocks, the next they were on top of what seemed like a dome. 

The boy let out a small yelp as he felt a cold sweat on his neck and back and he gripped Erieanna's hand ever so tightly. 

"W-where are we?" He asked her nervously 

"Just sit down, Repair Boy." The girl teased as she sat down

He followed after her and then looked around them. Erieanna had shown him this place before. She called it Temple Mountain or Plain or Hill or something. He really wasn't listening. He was still trying to wrap around his brain how he, Leonidas Valdez, was soulmates with Erieanna. She was perfect in every sense of the word. The gods had chosen her to be with him? It was hard to believe that this wasn't a joke.

"I never bring anyone up here, if I'm being completely honest." The girl told him as she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on it, "But, I guessed, since we're... that maybe this could be a good thing."

Leo smiled softly, looking over at her. It amazed him how one person could actually shut him up, especially someone who he had just met. 

"I've been alone practically all my life." Erieanna said, her eyes focused on the horizon, "I never thought that what my mama told me was actually true." 

"About what?" The boy asked 

"'Bout the colors and how it eventually comes to you if you're with the person you love, your soulmate."

Leo chuckled, "My mom never really talked about it. She was always really busy with her work and stressing over me. I didn't think colors were real until I heard others talk about it."

"My mama... she and my daddy, Pluto, they were always so happy whenever they were around each other and then..." Erieanna sighed, shaking her head

"What happened to her?" 

"Papa came to see us maybe three or four times each month, which was already more than defying Jupiter's prohibiting." A soft smile played on Erieanna's lips as she looked down at the Pluto temple a few feet away from the Jupiter one that she and Leo were on top of, "Pluto didn't care, said he'd do anything for my mama. My mama used to tell me that he was our gris gris, he was our luck. I guess Jupiter was so beyond furious that he did something extravagant to have my mom get cancer. She died 'bout four months later. I was three. After that, my papa took me from New Orleans and brought me here and..." 

She extended her left arm, the boy's eyes falling down to her forearm where she had the Pluto symbol, SPQR, and twelve horizontal lines tattooed into her skin. He didn't get why the Romans tattooed their campers. It was as if they wanted to brand them or something to remind them that they belonged to the camp and no one else.


	10. Chapter 10

"I lived with my mom in Texas. She was a mechanic and kinda met my dad through there. I lost her when I was kid and it was my fault. I burned down the warehouse she worked at." 

Erieanna frowned, looking over at Leo, "How?" 

The boy laughed dryly as he opened his hand, watching as his hand came up in flames. The daughter of Pluto watched with wondrous eyes, fascinated by the trick. 

"I went from orphanage to orphanage cause anyone else in my family didn't care to have me until I got stuck at the Wilderness School."

"Sounds like something for animals." She noted as Leo extinguished the flames 

The boy let out a genuine laugh, grinning at her, "What wasn't there were the actual animals."

Erieanna snorted, shaking her head as she looked back out to the horizon, noting how the sky was changing color, signaling the sun's setting.

"You've only started at your camp?" She asked him 

"Yeah. A few months, actually. With Jason and Piper." 

"I can't imagine that." Erieanna shook her head, her eyes turning down towards Camp Jupiter, smiling softly at the campers roaming around, "I've been here for so long... I can't really imagine myself being anywhere else." 

"This is your family. 'Course you don't."

The girl nodded, glancing up at him before blushing and turning away. Leo had been looking down at her with such a fond smile, it seemed as if they had known each other for years. 

"Look at how beautiful." Erieanna whispered out, nodding over at the sky 

Leo turned his head to look at the sunset. In all his years of looking at it, he never truly appreciated it until now. 

"Gods.." The boy breathed out 

"It's gorgeous isn't it?" She asked, the smallest hint of a smile on her face 

"It is but-"

"If you come up with something corny and say something like-"

"You're a better view?" Leo offered, grinning widely over at her 

She responded by smacking his shoulder before turning away so that he couldn't see the stupid smile she had on her face and the blush starting to form. Leo laughed, shaking his head at her. She was too adorable. She may act as if she was hard but, Gods, was she the cutest thing he'd ever seen. The girl smacked him again and he only laughed harder. 

"Hey, I, uh, I wanted to give you something." Leo said softly after his laughter died down, "I was making it during lunch and kinda tweaking it in the arena."

"What is it?" Erieanna asked, her curiosity peaked as she turned her head to look at whatever the boy had planned to give her 

"So now you wanna look at me? I see you, I see you- ow, hey!" The girl smirked softly as she punched the boy's side, "I was joking, you dork." 

Leo chuckled at the daughter of Pluto before reaching into his tool belt and taking out a small ring. It seemed as if it was made out of some kind of metal, probably the celestial bronze the Greeks use, with a gem in the middle that seemed to be glowing. 

Erieanna's eyes widened. He took so little time to make that? Gods, he attested to the fact that he was a son of Vulcan, Hephaestus. 

"This is for me?" She murmured 

"All for you." Leo smiled softly, getting closer to her, minding the fact that they were still on top of the Jupiter temple and that he could easily fall to his death, "I didn't think you'd really like it but playing with nuts and bolts is kinda my thing. That's how I was able to make that beautiful warship that's looming over your city." 

Erieanna looked over to the Argo II that was still hovering over New Rome, "You made that?"

"I designed it and went through months building my baby. I had the help of the other campers back at my camp, that's why we got through it so quickly." 

"If you'd have come to us, we would have done it in weeks, maybe days." She gave him a small smirk 

Leo widened his eyes,"Days?! Y'all are crazy. That gorgeous mother warship over there was crafted with love and care and compassion for months. Nothing could top that."

"Whatever you say, Repair Boy." She turned her attention back down to the small ring that he had made for her 

"That nickname is so annoying." The boy groaned 

"Guess it's fitting then." 

"Hey!" 

Erieanna smirked softly, not saying anything in return. She put the ring on her left ring finger, loving how beautiful it looked. She still couldn't get over how nice the glow was. The son of Hephaestus sure knew how to impress.

Leo smiled as he watched her put it on. It fit with her so nicely, he just wanted to give himself a pat on the back. Then again, he thought of something better. 

"Hey, Erieanna-"

"Erie. Or Er." The girl said, turning her head towards the boy, "That's what my friends call me. Or Anna." 

He grinned, moving his hand up to try and smooth down her edges. She rolled her eyes, moving her head away from his hand. Leo only chuckled, bringing his hand down to cup her cheek. She didn't give any resistance there and gave him at hint of a smile. 

"I'm really glad I got to spend the day with you." He told her, his grin slowly melting into a small smile 

He slowly leaned forward and Erieanna watched him with interest, wondering that he wanted to do. They locked eyes for a second before Leo flickered his eyes to her lips. 

"Hey! Erie!" The girl blinked and turned away from Leo, looking down and noticing Jason waving her at her, Piper at his side, "I knew you'd be here!" 

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at the son of Jupiter, "What do you want?" 

"Dinner's about to be called!" As if on cue, the horns were sounded, "C'mon! Let's go!" 

Erieanna glanced over at Leo who looked dejected, "You ready to shadow-travel again?"

She didn't wait for an answer as she took his hand and they appeared moments later beside Jason and Piper. Leo yelped once more and gripped her hand tightly. 

"See, this isn't gonna work if you're gonna be like that every time we travel." Erieanna told him

"Wha- that's so freaky, dude! How can I not freak out?" Leo asked, his eyes widened 

She rolled her eyes before turning over to the couple. Piper was watching with a knowing smile. Erieanna blushed and looked away, turning her attention over to Leo who was rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. She felt a lump in her throat as she remembered that she was still holding hands with the son of Hephaestus. Erieanna slipped her hand out, clearing her throat and looking away.

"Let's go, guys." Jason smiled before he and his girlfriend turned around, leading the way towards the mess hall

Erieanna chewed on the inside of her cheek as she looked up at Leo. The boy turned to look at her and she kissed his cheek sweetly. She didn't know how many times she shocked Leo but, she liked seeing that. 

"Dinner?" She offered 

"Oh, y-yeah." He stuttered, "'C-course."


	11. Chapter 11

"So, you two were gone all afternoon." Percy noted, nodding over at Erieanna and Leo, "Where'd you two run off to?"

Erieanna sat between Jason and Frank, happily nestled between the two boys. Leo sat on a couch across from them with a few of their other friends and others from the fifth cohort. Percy was one of their friends with him, a sly smirk as he waited for an answer. 

The girl glanced over at Leo, who was already staring at her, "I was giving him a tour of camp."

Eyes turned over to the brown boy and he grinned, nodding, "This place is so awesome! It'd be so cool to live here if it weren't for all these strict rules and stuff."

"It's not that bad." Jason told his friend, "Anyway, the camp grants that after four years of service to the legion, you could live in New Rome if you'd like."

"Yeah, Erie told me about that." Leo said, nodding over at the said girl who only ducked her head and continued eating at her club sandwich she had, "Said that you could have a relationship, go to school, get married, start a family."

Hazel nodded, shifting her gaze from her sister to the Greek, "New Rome is under our protection so all our citizens are able to live peacefully and without worry about attacks from monsters."

"The praetors, we ensure that everything is safe for them." Jason smiled 

"Speaking of praetors," Annabeth said from her seat beside her boyfriend, "Percy's told me you've never been praetor before, Erie. Why's that?" 

The girl looked up from her food, biting the inside of her cheek, "I.. want to win it fairly. All the past elections.. we've had great praetors. I'm not complaining." 

"She's incredible." Percy stated, shaking his head, "It's like.. everyone turns their heads to her for her verdict before turning to their own conclusions. She's the one that keeps all of this intact."

"Stop it." Erieanna sighed, a blush creeping up 

"No, I agree with Percy." Jason said, nudging her shoulder with a smile, "You are amazing. You should be proud of all the work you do. You should be Praetor."

The blush on her face grew hotter and she looked down at her food once more after catching Leo staring at her, "Maybe for the next Feast of Fortuna."

"You guys have a feast for tuna?" Leo asked, a confused expression on his face  

Erieanna wanted to facepalm and then probably smack the boy, not only for that comment. He had wanted to sit with her when they arrived at the Fifth Cohort's section of the mess hall but the girl only followed after Jason and sat between him and Frank. Leo felt a pang at his heart as he watched her and just sat beside this girl named Gwen who, supposedly, used to be a centurion for the Fifth Cohort. The boy snuck glances over at Erieanna throughout much of dinner but she would barely reciprocate anything. It was as if they hadn't just spent all afternoon getting to know each other. 

"Feast of Fortuna." Jason corrected his friend, "It's done in the honor of the goddess Fortuna who determines what fortunes and luck the camp has. It's done every year on June 24th, the summer solstice. It's also when we elect our new praetors."  

"The praetors govern camp and New Rome." Erieanna said, "They're what make all of this possible, not me."

Frank gave her a small smile, "Why don't you just take the compliment?" 

She shook her head before heaving a deep sigh, "When do you guys leave?" 

Annabeth glanced over at her boyfriend, "Percy and I were talking about that earlier. Maybe, if we get enough supplies and Leo makes his few repairs for the trip, two days? Right, Leo?" 

The boy looked away from Erieanna and cleared his throat, nodding, " Yeah. Two days, tops. We kinda got attacked by some aurae or whatever they're called, wind spirits, when we were coming over here, and kinda messed some things up. I gotta see the extent of the damage and then, it's party time on the Argo II."

"I'm guessing you guys already talked to Reyna about having to consult with the Senate for the vote on whether you'll go on the quest?" Erieanna asked, turning her head to Jason 

"We'll get it, don't worry." He smiled at her 

"I sure do hope you will. Remember, I'm still a Centurion for our cohort and still haven't gotten word from Reyna about any meeting." She gave him a small smirk

"That trireme is not a ship of peace!" Octavian said as he came up to them, "This, all of this, is treacherous!"

"Come aboard, man," Leo offered. "I'll give you a tour. You can steer the boat, and if you're really good, I'll give you a little paper captain's hat to wear. It'll probably fall off your head. Gotta make it small enough."

Octavian's nostrils flared. "How dare you—"

"It's a good idea," Erieanna said. "Go with him, Octavian. See the ship and check for any signs of treachery."

The girl was staring up at the pale boy with such a cold expression that any opposition he had building up inside of him had flared out and he sighed,"Fine."

Leo got up. He looked towards Erieanna and his smile changed. The girl thought she'd imagined it; but just for a moment someone else seemed to be standing in Leo's place, smiling coldly with a cruel light in his eyes, as if he was planning something sinister. Then, after she blinked, his smile was back to normal as he went back to being the normal Leo. 

"I'll be back soon. This is gonna be so wicked!" He grinned before turning and leading Octavian towards the mother warship

Erieanna chewed on the inside of her cheek as she watched the colors slowly fade away into the dull gray of her life. Leo must have noticed too as he turned his head to look at the girl. He offered her a smile before turning back around, seemingly trying to make a conversation with Octavian.


	12. Chapter 12

Erieanna had been laying in her bunk, studying the ring that Leo had given her when she heard the explosion. She was waiting for the boy come back, wondering if he'd like to have a stroll around New Rome before they went to bed. 

She sat up on her bunk when she heard the explosion and immediately grabbed at her armor that laid under her bed to strap it on quickly. Her camp was under attack. 

The first thought that came to her mind was Gaea having sent more of her monsters to the camp. She couldn't be more wrong. As she shadow-traveled to the Field of Mars, her eyes widened as she saw Romans taking up arms to go after the Argo II that was.. it was firing at New Rome.

Erieanna's hands balled into fists. They were betrayed?! No, that couldn't have possibly happened. 

She watched the mass of Romans slowly trickle inside of New Rome. It was because of Terminus. Her friends, the Greeks and Romans, had wanted to spend some time in New Rome before they had to leave. That's why the soldiers were on their way there. 

Erieanna appeared beside Terminus and dropped her bracelet inside. She was then turned around by a camper who looked just so confused and scared, "What should we do, Erieanna?"

By then, a group of Romans turned to her, to hear what she'd say. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, "We protect the legion and our city at all costs. Whoever is doing this.. they have to stand in trial for what they've done."

They nodded in agreement before watching her disappear. She appeared just a few feet away from Jason and Piper, in the crowd of amassed Romans that were throwing rocks and plates at them. Erieanna cried out when she saw a brick being thrown at her best friend, hitting him right above the eye, causing him to crumple down on the ground and the crowd to surge forward. 

She chewed on the inside of her cheek, looking up at the warship. Octavian was dangling off of the ladder and screaming while Percy and Annabeth were going up. She noticed how the color around her formed slowly. Leo was still up there. She shook her head, appearing beside the pale boy. 

"Octavian, grab my hand!" She told him as she grabbed onto the railing before she could fall 

He did as what he was told and the two appeared feet away from the Argo II, but still in the mass of legionnaires attacking the seven of the Prophecy. 

"What happened, Octavian?" Erieanna asked, "What the hell happened?!"

"That Leo! I knew those demigods were Graecus scum!" He had so much fire for a guy that looked scared half-to-death, "He trained the weapons on New Rome! They're here to kill us! We should have known!" 

Just then, more shots fired from the Argo II and Erieanna's blood turned into ice as she watched the legionnaires scramble to run away from the blasts. Her family was being attacked. There was no way in hell that she'd let that happen. 

"I'm going up there, Octavian!" She told him 

"What-! No! He'll kill you too!" 

The girl shook her head, "I'll be fine! Make sure everyone here is safe! We can't lose anyone!" 

With that, Erieanna appeared onboard the Argo II. She widened her eyes when a blast came towards the ship and she ran out of the way, grabbing on to the railing to keep her balance. 

Her eyes widened when she saw Leo actually manning the cannons. It couldn't be. 

"Erie!" She turned her head to see Percy and Annabeth arriving from having climbed up the rail, "What are you doing here?" 

"Don't worry about me!" Erieanna told them, making her way over to Leo, who was calmly reloading the ballista, "Leo, look at me." 

The boy acted as if he couldn't hear her. He readied the cannon, a wicked smile on his face. She frowned, grabbing him by the shoulder and slamming him against the wall. He tried escaping, but she kept a painful grip on him. 

The son of Hephaestus then turned to look at her. He had golden eyes, instead of his usual chocolate brown ones.

She turned to the stunned couple, barely acknowledging that Jason and Piper had been dropped off by Frank, "Get us out of here! I got this!" 

She then focused on Leo and their eyes locked. He blinked and the golden eyes were as if they hadn't ever been there before. The boy frowned, looking back at Erieanna, as if trying to wonder what had gotten them in that position. 

"Erie, what's-" 

He couldn't continue his question as a particularly harsh blast from a Roman cannon knocked the two off their feet. They hit their heads against the wood wall then floor, knocking themselves unconscious. 

"Erieanna!" Percy widened his eyes when he saw her disappear 

Shouts sounded from below on the ground as the onlookers watched the daughter of Pluto appear once more, free-falling in the sky. Among them was Reyna who watched with wide eyes, wondering if what she was seeing was real. 

"Catch her!" She screamed, her eyes flaring with anger


	13. Chapter 13

Erieanna let out a low groan as a blinding light forced her to open her eyes. She had a pounding headache and wanted nothing more than to fall back asleep. She tried sitting up but a gentle, but firm, hand pushed her back down. 

"You need to rest." Reyna told her softly, "You have a concussion and went flying through the sky." 

The younger girl frowned as she got accustomed to the light. She was in the infirmary. She usually loved it in here. She loved taking care of the patients, bandaging them, sometimes using her spells with extensive injuries. She hated being in one of these beds. 

Reyna interlocked their fingers together and squeezed her hand.

Erieanna chewed on the inside of her cheek, "Where's Leo?" 

The girl's eyes flashed with anger. The daughter of Pluto could tell that the boy was a very touchy subject with her now. It bothered Erieanna. It wasn't as if she was disrespecting the Praetor in any way. 

"He fired on our camp and all his friends left. They're all traitors to the legion. We've already sent our eagles after them."

"Reyna, we can't do that." The younger girl said, not liking the cold feeling that washed over her, "It wasn't their fault." 

"So what? You mean to tell me it wasn't that son of Vulcan firing at my camp? Maybe it was Octavian." 

Erieanna sighed, looking away from the praetor. Reyna was never really good at masking her emotions around the younger girl. Especially when she was jealous. 

"When I was up there and I looked at Leo, his eyes were.. glowing." She hated not having color around her anymore. It felt as if a part of her had left when Leo himself had left, "And, when he saw me, it was as if he had just realized he was on the ship. He didn't know what was happening."

Her heart panged at the thought of the curly haired boy. He didn't deserve to get punished for something that he didn't do. Sure, it was his body, but something had been possessing him. It was unjust to punish him and their friends. 

"I have no jurisdiction over this anymore, Erieanna." Reyna sighed, "The eagles were already sent. I could lose my praetorship and also be treated as an enemy of Rome if there was an ounce of doubt about my leadership in this time."

The younger girl looked back over at the Praetor, "You're saying that you believe Leo's innocent?" 

Reyna's jaw clenched, "I don't like him, but I trust your verdict more than others. You tend to be right so... I will attempt to delay any further actions against the seven but, I cannot promise anything."

Gods, if it were Hazel or Jason, she would have laughed and hugged them. With Reyna, she could only nod in acknowledgment. 

Minutes later, Erieanna was left alone on the small bed, surrounded by others who were either asleep or being treated by children of Mercury. She was told to rest and that she'd be fine in the morning, but she was already growing too antsy for that. The girl had gone through much worst than a concussion, she was fine. 

Her bed was under a window in which a faint glow of the moonlight was shining. A soft smile played on her lips at that. Where there was light, there was a shadow. She noticed that the shadow fell on her and her smile widened. It was too perfect. 

She let herself melt back into her bed, appearing in what seemed like a mess hall aboard the Argo II. There was a rounded table at which, currently, Annabeth, Percy, and Frank were sitting at, speaking with one another, with Leo and Hazel at the door. 

"Erie! She's here!" 

Erieanna had been standing in a far corner of the room, where she couldn't be seen. She didn't have to guess that he knew she was there because of the introduction of color into his vision once more. 

The girl appeared from the shadows, watching as the five turned their heads towards her. She felt a lump in her throat form. Gods, if anyone knew where she was... she didn't want to think about it.

Hazel rushed to her and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. Erieanna smiled softly, hugging her sister back. It felt so alleviating to have this sense of comfort around another. 

"Annabeth and Percy said that you had been falling when we had to leave." Hazel told her, pulling away from the hug to look at the older girl 

Erieanna nodded, "A blast knocked me unconscious and I guess I accidentally shadow-traveled but, without me thinking of a place to go... Nevermind that, I've not much time to be with you guys. Reyna's sent the eagles after you."

"We'll blow them out of the sky then." Leo shrugged, leaning against the wall 

Hazel sighed, shaking her head, "They're Roman eagles. They could track our scent extremely easily and since we're enemies of Rome now.." 

The son of Hephaestus looked over the group of demigods uneasily, "You guys, I'm so sorry. I honestly didn't mean for any of this to happen. It's-"

"Not your fault." Erieanna interjected, watching as everyone's attention turned to her, "I saw these... glowing eyes instead of your normal ones. I don't have much knowledge about that, but something possessed you and.. I really do believe you're innocent." 

The boy's eyes widened at her, almost surging forward to hug her. He felt his eyes water and realized that the reason why he was getting so emotional was because of the fact that no one actually believed in him like she did. 

"You trust that guy, Erie?" Percy asked, arms crossed and a frown on his face, "Someone you've barely met?"

"Percy!" Annabeth exclaimed, slapping her boyfriend's arm, "Leo didn't fire on the Romans deliberately. He's not of that nature."

"I don't even have a sword, dude." Leo told the son of Poseidon

Erieanna shook her head, "I don't have the time for this. At any rate, knowing Octavian, he's already amassed a group of supporters in arguing for war against the Greeks and something tells me that he's getting support from the majority of the camp so, even if Reyna decides to speak against it, her verdict would be overruled."

"I hate that guy." Frank grumbled, his hand balling into a fist

"Is there anything you could do to prevent the attack on Camp Half-Blood?" Annabeth asked the daughter of Pluto

"There's nothing I can truly do other than try to slow things down and get information for you guys." Erieanna said, "If I did more, then I would be branded as a traitor to the legion and you guys need the help. Reyna trusts my judgement so, she'll try her best to delay the attack, but there's no guarantee."

The mess hall was frozen with silence as the demigods all had grim expressions on their faces. Erieanna noticed that Leo's eyes never left hers and she fidgeted nervously, turning her attention away from him. Gods, she hated how nervous she was around him. 

"I have to go." She said softly, everyone's heads turning towards her, " Stay...Just be careful." 

Leo watched as Erieanna gave Hazel a nod before making her way out of the room, not before giving him a slight glance. The boy waited for a minute or two before pushing himself off of the wall to follow after her silently. 

"What's up with them?" Percy asked, intrigued


	14. Chapter 14

Leo found the girl up on the stern quarter-deck, pressed against the wall, as if one with the shadows, while also looking up at the sky. She looked gorgeous in the moonlight yet, so exhausted. The guilt fell on his shoulders once more for the millionth time that evening. It was because of him that all of this was happening. 

"I still can't believe you're not on this quest with us." Leo stated as he stood a foot or two away from her 

She turned her head towards him, as if noticing he was there, "It's the Prophecy of the Seven, not the Eight. It's not meant for me to go."

The boy nodded before sighing, "I just wish none of this would have happened. I shouldn't have gone on this quest. I messed it up before it even started."

Erieanna bit the inside of her cheek before reaching her hand out towards him. Leo had eyes full of such sadness, it hurt her to see him like that. He looked at her dejectedly but took her hand. She smiled softly, pulling him towards her, wrapping her arms around his middle tightly. 

Leo was frozen for a few moments before melting into her embrace, holding her close to him. He let out a choked sob and Erieanna smiled sympathetically, bringing her hand up to run her fingers through his messy curls. 

"This isn't your fault, Leo." She murmured, "In some way, somehow, you're vital to this quest. Just come back to me in one piece, okay?"

She pulled away but the boy held on to her tighter, which made her smile. She cupped his cheeks in his hands, watching as his eyes looked up from below them to her own eyes. 

"You want me to come back to you?" He asked incredulously 

Erieanna let a soft laugh leave her lips, "How'd you suppose we figure out this soulmate thing if you're not here with me?"

He laughed, pulling her impossibly closer to him. She pressed their foreheads together, closing her eyes in the calming silence. Leo watched her with the softest smile on his face, his hands moving under her shirt to comfortingly rub circles to her sides. 

"You sure you can't stay?" He murmured, "Not even for the night?"

"You're making that very tempting right now, Repair Boy."

"What can I say? I'm a very convincing guy." He chuckled 

"Don't get too cocky now, you dork." Erieanna told him as she pushed him away from her, attempting to hide the smirk playing on her lips, "I'm just staying the night to help you guys be shielded from the eagles." 

"'Shielded from the eagles.'" Erieanna slightly flinched away from Leo, turning her head to see Annabeth and Percy out on the deck, "What does that mean?" 

The girl cleared her throat and moved away from Leo, walking towards the couple, "I um," Erieanna glanced back at Leo before turning her attention back at the couple, "I can perform hexes and spells. A couple of them can help with masking the ship."

"So like the Mist?" Leo asked, standing beside her 

"Not really. It'll just make it harder for the eagles to follow after you guys. I can make it work for as long as I'm here so, I'll stay here for tonight. Everyone's asleep at camp anyway so, we're fine, but we'll most likely convene the Senate tomorrow so I'll be gone by tomorrow morning." 

"We could really use your help on our quest, Erie." Percy told her 

She smiled softly, "You'll have much of my aid with me at camp, Perce. You don't need me for your quest." 

"How did you learn to do these spells?" Annabeth asked her 

Erieanna shrugged, "Mama was into voodoo, that's how she and my daddy met. She kept a book with her, full with all the spells she knew and Papa gave it to me as a birthday present when I was younger. I also learned a bunch more with the aid of the children of Hekate."

"That is fascinating." The girl breathed out 

The daughter of Pluto smiled softly and bowed her head, "I have to go throughout the ship reciting these spells so, I guess it's going to be a long night."

It took Erieanna three hours to go around the ship doing her spells. That was because of how much time Leo spent talking to her and that incident where the girl had finally met Coach Hedge. She had accidentally called him a faun and he had gotten extremely offended. 

She had even gone to see Jason. The boy was finally awake and when he saw her walk in, he had smiled and asked her to fill him in. Piper was there with him and had smiled at her kindly before once again looking between her and Leo. She seemed to be piecing together why they were always found with one another but didn't say anything about it. 

Erieanna had managed to lose the son of Hephaestus through the night as he had claimed that he needed some repairs to do. The girl didn't trust that but she didn't push it. If he needed his space, she'd give it to him. 

She found him in his cabin once she was done placing all the spells around the ship. The boy was curled up in bed, soft sobs raking out of him. Her heart broke at this and she took her shoes off, leaving them by the door before making her way towards him. 

Erieanna got under the covers and wrapped her arms around the small boy. He flinched, but as she got more comfortable and truly let herself drape all over him, he relaxed. 

"You're not supposed to see me like this." He mumbled 

"It's okay to cry. You don't have anything to prove to me or anyone else." She murmured softly

He turned around in her arms and buried his face in her chest as he returned to his sobs. Erieanna closed her eyes and turned to running her fingers through his unruly hair in order to soothe him. 

She murmured an incantation into his ear to calm him down. Moments later, the sobs had died down and he was just sniffling as he clung to her. 

"You're okay. It's okay." She told him, kissing the top of his head 

His sniffles turned to labored breaths. They soon turned to soft puffs of air, signaling that the boy had fallen asleep. Erieanna had a soft smile on her face as she continued to run her fingers through his soft, curly hair while the two held each other close. Minutes later, she had managed to fall asleep, her arms around Leo, as if reassuring him that she'd never leave him.


	15. Chapter 15

The next morning, Erieanna had left without telling anyone. She had woken up to being held in Leo's arms, the reverse of her previous position. The boy had been snoring softly into her ear as he held her close to him, which made her heart flutter.

He looked so at peace, the opposite of the day before. It soothed her. She didn't like to see people troubled, even if he was a person she had just met the day before. 

She was back at Camp Jupiter not even five minutes later, knowing that if she was still there when the boy would wake up, it would be harder for her to leave. 

As she had suspected, the Fifth Cohort was up for breakfast while the centurions had their togas on for the Senate meeting. They turned their heads when someone called out her name and smiled at her, asking if she was okay, telling her that they had been worried about her. She smiled softly, assuring them she was fine as she reached into her drawers for a change of clothes and her toga and that she was grateful to be back with them.

Breakfast was quick for her and before she knew it, she was sitting in the front row of the Senate House. It seemed as if the building was more packed than the day before and that worried her. Octavian had many of his supporters with him and at the moment, there was a grand uproar amongst those present in the House, signaling how upset they were with everything.

Reyna sat at one of the Praetor chairs, the other empty. It was as if the past week hadn't happened. Her eyes scrutinized the scene playing out before her as she took her hands off of Aurum and Argentum's heads. Her two dogs, in turn, growled loudly enough for the arguing to die down and the people to return to their seats. Octavian sat beside Erieanna, something that unsettled her, but that she didn't act upon.

"Today's Senate meeting is on the topic of how we should pursue this matter with the seven of the prophecy." Reyna said calmly, her voice booming throughout the building

"If I must, Reyna," Octavian said, standing up, "Is there other way to pursue this? They fired deliberately at New Rome. It is heresy of the highest order!"

People around the Senate House nodded in agreement, some even voicing it. Octavian was right. Camp Jupiter was meant to protect New Rome, not allow them to be in danger. 

"Death penalty for those traitors!" Octavian exclaimed

There was a roar in agreement for it but Reyna had it silenced by her hounds once more. Erieanna bit at the inside of her cheek. They were her friends. They couldn't die for something that they didn't even do. 

"They deserve a trial." Erieanna stated, standing up, "I highly doubt that they'd come to our camp, with our lost praetor, if it'd be to betray us."

"If I'm not mistaken, Erieanna," Octavian said, his dull blue eyes boring into hers, "I'd think that you were defending them."

"I'm not." She responded, "Nothing is of more importance to me than the protection of Rome. With that being said, we must abide by the laws that guarantee the protection of Rome. At this rate, if you find a petty thief, you'd imprison them for months. We cannot set this execution as an example for others. Our legion is to be feared, not despised. They must get a proper trial and not until after can we determine their fate." 

Many around the Senate House nodded and murmured in agreement. They knew she was right. That made her breathe a little bit easier. 

"What do you suggest we do, then, if you want to show them how merciful we are?" Octavian said mockingly

"Follow our eagles to them." She responded, "We take action wherever they land. Where are our eagles now?"

"Following the scent of the traitors. They're flying over Wichita, Kansas as we speak." One of the sentry guards present, Kaden, responded 

The girl nodded, looking over at Reyna who was examining the scene silently with scrutinizing eyes, "Once they stop, we attack. We can get to whatever destination in far less time than them, especially with our navy."

"This is war, Erieanna. Those Greeks declared it once they fired on us. We must retaliate and do the same to their own camp. For the honor of Rome!" Shouts of approval rung around the Senate House as a result of Octavian's declaration

Erieanna bit the inside of her cheek. People then turned over to her, to see what she'd respond. She quickly sneaked a glance over at Reyna. The girl sat poised, looking at the crowd as if calculating their every move. She had yet to truly comment on this debacle and the younger girl bet that she'd only truly say something at the end. 

She thought back to Leo and her friends, feeling a pang at her heart. She didn't like betraying them but she also couldn't betray her home. She had to do this. The least she could do was what she had promised them - buy them time. 

"We cannot exhaust our soldiers, Octavian." She responded, her jaw clenching, "One task at a time. We will march on their camp if they refuse to surrender themselves. If we do both tasks at once, we will lack troops to protect New Rome. That is more important to us than anything else."

"We will follow through with what Erieanna suggests." Reyna stated, ending their argument, "We will send about four dozen soldiers to the traitors' location with eagles. Erieanna, Octavian, and I will join them along with a number of centurions. We leave in the hour. If there is nothing else, this Senate meeting is adjourned."


	16. Chapter 16

Erieanna bit down on the inside of her cheek as she walked away from the Senate House minutes after the meeting had ended. She walked alone back up to camp, smiling softly at those who congratulated her for what she had done inside the building. 

She felt as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders yet also felt that same weight still weighing down on her. It was as if she accomplished nothing. 

She was conflicted. Camp Jupiter had gone to war not even a week ago, had gone to war not even two years ago, yet, those were against monsters. This was against other demigods. It felt...wrong. 

Erieanna adored the legion. She was proud to be a Roman. This new war just worried her too much. 

Maybe it was about Leo. About the fact that it would be hurting him to. She didn't want any harm being done on him. She didn't want harm to come to any of the seven. It was as if only she knew that they were innocent. Technically, that was true. Then again, if she advocated for them, she'd only be branded as a traitor as well, especially with Octavian leading this offensive. She only hoped her friends were okay. 

When she reached the Fifth Cohort barracks, she noticed that it was empty. She almost sighed out in relief. No one would notice if she shadowtraveled. Anyway, no one ever truly wondered where she'd go off to. It was regular of her to disappear during the day. She just had to make sure to be ready for departure in an hour.

Erieanna melted back into the shadows casted by a curtain before appearing on the Argo II. She coughed, interrupting Percy and Annabeth kissing at the mast of the ship.

"Erie!" Percy exclaimed as he realized it was her, "What're you here for?" 

The younger girl noticed as the colors around her became more and more vibrant and she bit down her smile, turning her head to watch Leo walking over to the trio. The curly haired boy grinned at her and she blushed, ducking her head to hide her small smile. Even with a small gesture as that, he could get a reaction from her. 

"I bring a warning." She told the three Greeks, "Those eagles we've sent after you are most likely honing closely to your scent. We're sending Romans after you and then we'll be advancing on your camp. It's the most I could delay things. Octavian has declared war on the Greeks because of what had happened. There's truly no going back from this." 

All around, there were grim faces and Erieanna felt bad, wishing she could do anything else to help them. Leo glanced over at her, his brown eyes filled with worry. 

"The next time we meet, it will not be on such friendly terms. I do hope I don't have to fight with any of you." She told them, "I really must go. We're leaving any time now and Reyna will suspecting if I am gone too long." 

"I'll help you find a shadow." Leo stated

She nodded in response while Annabeth thanked her for her warning. Erieanna bid farewell to the couple before following Leo into his ship. She duly noted that the other demigods were in the mess hall as the two passed by. They were talking amongst each other so she didn't bother intruding. She just followed Leo, noticing at the back of her mind that their hands would brush against each other's ever so softly as they walked. 

"Thank you." She told the boy as she fitted against the shadow of a cabinet

"Anything for you." He gave her a lopsided grin as he brought one of her hands up to give it a kiss

Erieanna blushed as she watched him, her heart feeling as if it fell to the pit of her stomach. He was such a charmer. If only they were able to get to know each other without being in the midst of this whole ordeal. 

"Are we Romeo and Julietting this?" The boy asked her 

She snorted, "I don't think we're star-crossed lovers, Leo. Also, I doubt that this'll end with a mutual suicide."

The son of Hephaestus shrugged, his grin growing wider as he rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, "So I guess it's just an unspoken thing between us." 

The girl rolled her eyes, pulling her hand away from him, "Maybe try focusing on staying alive rather than issues that are not pressing at the moment." 

She gave him a small smirk before disappearing into the shadows, returning to the barracks. Erieanna bit the inside of her cheek to refrain herself from smiling while she also grew disappointed. The colors around her were once again the dull black, white, and grey that she knew.


	17. Chapter 17

The few dozen Romans arrived at Charleston Harbor mere hours later. Many came with eagles, others by means of Erieanna's shadowtraveling. 

The Romans had managed to corner the Seven before they could depart. At the side of her eye, Erieanna caught Annabeth rushing into Fort Sumter. Before she could run after her, Reyna stopped her as she landed on the ground with her pegasus, Scipio.

"I have her. I need you out here." She told the younger girl 

Erieanna nodded grimly before turning back to the battlefield. Color was reintroduced into her eyesight and the girl didn't have to guess that Leo was nearby. 

The daughter of Pluto flicked her wrist, watching as her beaded bracelet materialized into her beautiful Stygian iron sword. 

"Do not let them get away!" Erieanna shouted, loud enough for the Romans to hear her 

They shouted back words of approval and the girl smirked softly, turning around and noticing Leo getting up from the ground. It seemed as if he quite literally fell from the sky. 

From off the ground, he grabbed a sword as he looked around before laying his eyes on the dark-skinned girl. She walked towards him, her smirk growing as his eyes grew wide. She had her sword ready and took the first swing at him which he deflected quickly. 

"Didn't think you'd know how to wield a sword." She commented

"I'm not perfect at it. I'd rather just rely on my tool belt but, I don't think it'll help me right now."

"Neither will your swordsmanship skills, I'm afraid." 

Her smirk grew wider as she attacked him once more, far too quick for the boy. She slashed at him, pressing on him harder every time he tried deflecting her blows. It seemed as if it was the only thing he could do. That just made her all the more sure of herself. 

Erieanna hit his hand with the butt of her sword and was too caught up in the moment as she turned and slashed at him once more, kicking him down to the ground and pointing the tip of her sword to his throat. 

"I told you the next time we'd meet wouldn't be so friendly." She told him, registering at the back of her mind that he had blood on his chest and his arms

"Please, Erie, I'm innocent! We found out-"

"Leo," Erieanna's voice came out more broken than she thought it'd be and it scared her to say the least, "I know you're innocent. Please, just come with me. I could convince everyone else about what I know."

"Erieanna!" She turned her head to see Jason running to her, his sword in his hand

She deflected his blow just in time before his sword would cut her in half. The blonde boy told his friend to run and Erieanna narrowed her eyes at him, turning and trying to slash at his chest. 

"You don't have to do this, Erie. Just let us go." Jason told her, deflecting her attack 

"Can't do that." She responded, turning to slashing at his legs, a small smirk as she hurt his thigh, " I tried helping you guys but there's only so much I can do. I have to put up a front so that I'm not branded a traitor like the rest of you." 

He tried returning the blow by jabbing at her side but she deflected it easily, "What do you expect us to do then, Er?"

"Come back to Camp Jupiter with us. I'll advocate on your behalf. Octavian wants all of your heads on a spike but, I can talk the campers out of it. Maybe imprisonment for a while and that could possibly dissipate at the next Feast of Fortuna if I become praetor. Please, I'm trying to help you." 

Jason turned around, looking at the battlefield with the tourist amongst the demigods, screaming and running away. Annabeth emerged from the building, as if signaling that they had to leave. 

"You're asking me to sacrifice the fate of the world for the Romans, Erie." The blond boy told her 

"Isn't that what you are meant to do? We have vowed to protect Rome with our lives. We will decipher the prophecy ourselves. We can all do it together." 

He seemed as if he wanted to say something but he only shook his head, turning away from her, "I have to go." 

"I can't let you, Jason." Erieanna sighed, holding her sword up once more

"I'm sorry for this, then." He told her, turning back to her and pushing his hand out

She didn't have any time to decipher anything as she felt a gust of wind throw her off balance and make her crash into a nearby tree. She watched as Jason and Annabeth were the last ones to board the Argo II before the ship sailed off, away from the Romans.


	18. Chapter 18

"We have got to stop meeting like this." Leo murmured softly as he watched Erieanna emerge from the shadows of his cabin 

"I think it's the only way we can. For now, at least." She responded, setting the first aid kit in her hands on his work bench before turning to him

He brought his hands up to cup her cheeks, his big brown eyes boring into hers. She felt as if her heart was threatening to spill out of her mouth with how close they were to one another. The girl closed her eyes and nuzzled her cheek against one of his hands, bringing her own hands to close around his wrists. 

It was weird how connected Erieanna already felt to Leo. She thought back to her mother who loved to talk about her and Pluto and about the beautiful world of color that surrounded them. She said that she was always happy whenever she was around the god of the Underworld. The young girl felt the same when she was with Leo. She only wished they met in much simpler terms.

"Why don't you come with us, E?" He whispered, "You'd help us for so much." 

"I can't." She sighed, opening her eyes to look at the boy, "I meant what I said back in Charleston. If you would have come with me, I could have fought for you. Now, all that's thrown away. Octavian is bloodthirsty and will stop at nothing to ensure the demise of the Greeks." 

Leo shook his head, pulling away from her, "I hate that guy." 

"You and me both." 

He chuckled as he looked over at the girl, "Guess you do have some sort of sense of humor in there."

She rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head, "Take your shirt off, Valdez."

"Woah, give a guy a little warning first. Don't you think we're taking this too quickly?" 

Leo looked at her with a wide smirk, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Erieanna frowned at him for a second as confusion clouded her mind before realization dawned on her. 

The girl widened her eyes and blushed, pulling him off of her, "Not like that. I just...I want to patch up your wounds that I caused." 

"Oh." The boy said, looking down at himself, "I forgot about that." 

The two moved over to his bed where Erieanna sat across from him as he pulled down his suspenders and unbuttoned his beige shirt. His tanned body was slightly muscular, probably because of him being a son of Hephaestus. 

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." 

Erieanna blinked and turned to look up at him before blushing and looking down, "I was just looking at the injuries."

The two sat in silence as the young girl bandaged the son of Hephaestus up. She felt bad for having injured him. Leo, on the other hand, took the silence as a leeway for him to study the daughter of Pluto. He noted how concentrated she was in treating his wounds, even if they were just minor. She was thoughtful and caring for the amount of time that he had been around her so far. He didn't think she noticed but she liked to play with her bracelet a lot when she was nervous and she did the same with the ring that he had given her. 

"You still have the ring." He noted 

Erieanna cocked her head to the side before looking down at the glowing gem. A soft smile played on her lips as she looked back at him, "I don't take off things that are sentimental to me." 

The boy grinned as he watched her finish up with her bandaging. Leo grabbed her hands and laced them with his own. They sat like that for a few minutes before the boy pulled Erieanna closer to him. 

The girl bit the inside of her cheek, watching as the boy brought a hand up to cup her cheek. He wanted to kiss her, she knew it. He was trying to get closer to her but Erieanna placed a hand on his chest to stop him. 

"We can't." She told him, dropping her hand to her side and putting distance between herself and the boy

"Why not?" Leo asked her, squeezing their other joined hand 

A soft smile played on her lips as she brought her free hand up to smoothen over his cheek, "It'd just make it harder for me to leave, cher."

She got up and grabbed the first aid kit she had brought with her, walking over to where she had entered. Leo followed after her, watching her as she was getting ready to leave. 

"I can't help you guys anymore." Erieanna told him with a sigh, "It is forbidden to travel to the Mare Nostrum. Not only that, I'm expected to lead our army against your camp. I don't know when I'll see you again." 

Leo smiled softly, bringing one of her hands up and kissing her knuckles, "I'll come for you when all of this is over. That's a promise." 

"I hope that's one you can keep, Valdez." She responded, squeezing his hand before dropping her hand to her side and melting back into the shadows with what felt like dread for what was yet to come


	19. Chapter 19

After the fight at the Charleston Harbor, Erieanna had managed to convince Reyna to bring the troops back to Camp Jupiter. Octavian was angry about delaying their attack on Camp Half-Blood but Erieanna spoke of how their troops needed time to prepare for war and how they needed their troops properly trained.

Although what Erieanna said was true, some part at the back of her mind she realized that she was also doing this for the Seven. It's been weeks since she had last seen her friends, since she had last seen Leo. She wanted to contact them but she didn't want to risk crossing the Mare Nostrum. It was too dangerous. 

She hoped by now they found her brother, Nico DiAngelo. He had been gone for so long, she only wished he was okay. 

After two weeks at Camp Jupiter, an army of over forty soldiers began marching to Camp Half-Blood after Reyna revealed the location of the Greeks' camp that she had obtained when she had spoken to Annabeth while she and the rest of the Seven were in Camp Jupiter. It was less than a week later that they arrived in New York City. Erieanna led the soldiers with Reyna, stationing them at Central Park. 

Reyna had gathered Erieanna, Octavian, and the centurions of the five cohorts for a supposed meeting atop the roof of a nearby building. Not too far away stood the Empire State Building where clouds gathered, lightning flashing around it. The gods were angry. 

Erieanna stood beside Reyna and her two hounds, wearing her purple Camp Jupiter shirt and camo pants with boots, armor over her shirt. Reyna wore her cape, which was billowing in the hasty air, her hair wet as if she just came from a shower, with armor over her camp shirt and jeans. She was exhausted. From anyone other than Erieanna herself and possibly Jason, it wouldn't be noticeable but, the younger girl could tell by how tense and weary she was that all this planning for a war has tired her down far too much. 

Erieanna felt the same. For the past few weeks, the daughter of Pluto could hardly get a good night's sleep. She was far too preoccupied with the troops and protecting them from the monsters' eyes with a protection spell over them while also having to tend to them that she herself couldn't sleep much. She wasn't forced to do so but she liked ensuring the safety of the Roman demigods. For some, this would be their first war. This whole journey was traumatizing enough. 

Every night, Erieanna would have recurrent nightmares. Some were of the Seven and how their journey was progressing but, a certain dream of Leo always surpassed them. She hoped the boy was okay. Not being in contact with him for weeks has had her worried enough. 

Two people emerged onto the roof and the Romans tensed even if they were expecting them. It was a curly haired girl and a faun. 

The faun wore a Nature Conservancy t-shirt with a set of pipes across his neck and nothing to cover his hairy lower body. The curly haired girl wore a white t-shirt with blue jeans with what seemed like hand drawn black ink markings onto them while she was drumming a blue hairbrush against her thigh nervously. 

The girl stepped forward, her eyes set on Reyna, "You got my message." 

"That's the only reason you've made it this far, Graecus. I hope you've come to discuss the terms of your surrender." 

"Stop it, Octavian." Erieanna told him, narrowing her eyes at him to stand down 

The daughter of Bellona closely studied the two Greeks, "Weapons?"

"None." The Greek girl responded, "Grover's part of the Council of Cloven Elders. He's not a threat for our conversation."

"I just have my pipes." The faun stated, "Percy always said that my cover of 'Born to be Wild' should be considered a dangerous weapon, but I don't think it's that bad. Other than that, I'm just here to protect Rachel." 

"Another friend of Percy Jackson." Octavian sneered, "That's all I had to hear. This conversation is over." 

"Hey, man, can you just-"

The faun stopped when Reyna raised her hand for silence. Aurum and Argentum sniffed the air but stayed put at her sides.

"Our guests have been telling the truth thus far but be warned, Rachel and Grover, this conversation will end badly if you stray away from the truth. Now, what was this urgent message you had for me?"

Rachel dug out of her pocket a napkin and handed it to Reyna, "A message from Annabeth." 

The daughter of Bellona read over the paper before looking over at Rachel, "Is this some kind of a joke?" 

"I wish." The girl responded, "They're really in Tartarus." 

"What?" Erieanna asked incredulously, turning her head over to look at Reyna who just nodded in response before looking over at Rachel, "But how-"

"I don't know." The girl admitted, "It appeared in the sacrificial fire at our dining pavilion. This is Annabeth's handwriting. She sent this and asked for you by name. For both of you."

Erieanna blinked, turning to look over at Reyna. The praetor handed her the letter. The daughter of Pluto read over the letter as the others spoke. It seemed as if the young girl could breathe more easily. She did hate that Annabeth and Percy were in Tartarus but they had each other. They would survive, Erieanna knew it. 

"The Athena Parthenos. She expects us to get it?" Erieanna asked 

"She expects you to be ready for the statue." Rachel told her, "Annabeth is wise. She expects you to bring the statue, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano."


	20. Chapter 20

A frozen silence rung around the group of demigods. Reyna grew even more tense than she had before. No one spoke her full name, ever. There were not many that knew of it. 

"Your initials are RA-RA?" The faun asked yet quickly continued as he noticed Reyna's hand drifting toward her dagger, "Not that it matters! Look, we wouldn't have come here, unarmed, in the middle of a Roman army if we didn't trust Annabeth. A Roman leader returning the most important Greek statue to Camp Half-Blood - she knows that that would be important in preventing this war."

Erieanna glanced over at Reyna who thought over this, "You can't seriously be considering this!" Octavian exclaimed, "We're on the verge of war! They want to divert your attention! They want to send you to your death!"

"Have more respect, Octavian, son of Apollo. Even the Romans respected the Oracle of Delphi." Rachel told him, "I have no specific prophecy to offer you but I have glimpses of the future. I see the Athena Parthenos on Half-Blood Hill with Reyna bringing it. We come together to fight the bigger fight and.." She turned her eyes to concentrate them on Erieanna, "We suffer grave pains." 

The curly haired girl seemed almost as if she felt sorry for Erieanna. The daughter of Pluto frowned as she looked back at the girl. What was that supposed to mean? She vaguely thought about Leo, suspecting that Rachel was hinting at that. She made a mental note to I-Message him. It's been far too long without any contact with him. 

"You're telling me that Annabeth is in Tartarus yet, she has found a way to send this letter for me." Reyna stated, "She wants me to bring the Athena Parthenos from the ancient lands to your camp."

Rachel nodded, "Only a Roman leader can do it. Only you can restore peace between our two groups."

"And why would we want peace if the Greeks fired on our city?" Reyna asked her 

"To avoid this war." The girl responded, "We have to join forces, Greeks and Romans, to defeat the greater threat that is Gaea's awakening."

"According to Percy Jackson, the battle with Gaea will be fought in the ancient lands, in Greece. Why must we care?" 

"Over the last few months, I've been speaking with satyrs and nature spirits all over the continent." Grover stated, "They're all saying the same thing. Gaea is rising, right on the edge of consciousness. She's been trying to talk nymphs and others into her cause. Last week alone she appeared in human form, scaring the horns off of some of my friends. The fight against Gaea is not only in Greece. She is quite literally Earth. She'll rule over us all if we don't band together and fight as one."

"This is nothing but a distraction, speculation!" Octavian exclaimed, "They're trying to confuse us. It's the Trojan Horse all over again!" 

All eyes turned to Reyna. The girl twisted over her silver ring that had the symbols of Bellona - a sword and torch. 

"Khatija," She said, "bring Scipio from the stables for me." 

"Reyna!" Octavian protested 

Reyna then turned to face the Greeks, ignoring the scrawny boy, "I will do this for Annabeth, for hope of peace between our camps, but do not believe that the attack against our people has been forgotten. You declared war, not us. Now leave." 

Grover seemed as if he wanted to say something but a stern gaze from Erieanna and warning words from Rachel made him back off. The two Greeks retreated down the stairs and the Romans turned to themselves.

"Are you out of you mind?" Octavian turned to Reyna, his eyes wide with anger, "You expect us to sit around and wait for you to be killed while breaking our ancient laws and rules against going over the Mare Nostrum?"

"I am praetor. I based my decision on what is best fit for Rome. If the Seven are passing through Greece, I know where to find them. To fight Gaea, they will need an army. I know where Jason will stop." 

"What will we do until your return, Reyna?" Erieanna asked her friend

"You will not launch an attack against the Greeks unless I allow it. Continue scouting their camp, secure your positions, gather as many allies as you can. If you catch the dwarves that have been ransacking our site, you have my blessing to send them to Tartarus. Do not attack Camp Half-Blood until I return."

Octavian narrowed his eyes at her, "While you're gone, the augur will replace you as senior officer. I will be in charge." 

"I know." The daughter of Bellona replied grimly, "You have my orders. You're expected to follow them." 

Reyna looked over at Erieanna expectantly. The latter nodded in response, as if assuring her that she'll make sure her orders are followed. The praetor turned and stormed off, her purple cape billowing behind her and her hounds at her sides. 

Once she was gone, Octavian turned to the centurions with a wicked glint in his eyes, "Gather all the senior officers. We will have a meeting once Reyna's left on her fool's quest. There will be a change in the legion's plans."


	21. Chapter 21

Erieanna had a restless sleep for the next week or so. Octavian went completely against Reyna's orders the moment she left camp. The daughter of Pluto couldn't act out against him. He was the one in charge. 

Octavian took the authority in calling himself the Pontifex Maximus, Roman Emperor. Erieanna knew that Reyna would be enraged when she heard. The boy continued on with hiring former legionnaires that had been banished because of the crimes they had committed, such as Bryce Lawrence, the psychopath. 

The supposed Emperor went around making allies with Cyclopes, two-headed men, Cynocephali and Centaurs. Erieanna herself had to go around, shadowtraveling to recruit these monsters. Octavian had even gone the length to commissioning the Cyclopes to build six onagers, designed to hurl projectiles of massive explosive power. He wanted to destroy the Greeks, ignoring any possibility of granting them mercy. 

Erieanna grew more than just tired. She could barely sustain the strain of the amount of times she's travelled. That night, when the girl finally got the okay from Octavian that she could rest for a few hours before they finally advanced on the Greeks as they were about half a mile or so away from Camp Half-Blood, Erieanna fell like a rock on her hammock. 

Her nightmares always took over her when she slept. The darkness around her melted away and Erieanna appeared on the Argo II. She saw beautiful shades of brown amongst other colors. A smile spread of her lips. Leo was near. 

She went walking through the ship in search of the boy. The ship had changed so much since she had last seen it. Leo must have been planning it through the quest. 

Gods, it was far too long since she'd seen him. She wanted him to be with her. She knew that he'd help her stop Octavian from further dividing the two camps. He would be there for her. 

Erieanna finally found him. He was in the engine room, furiously working at the interior of the ship. There must have been something wrong with the ship itself. She could hear squeaking around and groaning, as if a pressure were straining it. 

At that moment, the girl couldn't care less. Tears filled in her eyes with happiness. Gods, she adored the boy so much. She missed seeing him. She missed talking to him. She missed touching him. In such a short amount of time, he had become her rock. 

"Leo!" 

Erieanna tried getting his attention but, it was as if he couldn't hear her. She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder but it was as if she didn't feel anything. Her heart fell to the pit of her stomach. He didn't know she was there with him.

The boy pulled away from the inside, looking around and sighing softly, "We're going to be okay, buddy." He murmured, rubbing against the wood, "We've got this." 

The dream shifted and Erieanna found herself as if she was on the back of a golden dragon. She sat behind Leo who seemed to be throwing balls of fire at a woman. Gaea. Jason and Piper were being held in one of the dragon's metallic claws while Gaea was held in its other. 

Erieanna looked down and frowned. She couldn't see anything from under the clouds. It was as if it were only the five of them. 

She felt as if she were in an oven. She turned her attention back to Leo. The daughter of Pluto would have probably fallen off of the dragon with the surprise she had. Leo looked as if he were made of fire. Flames ripped from under his skin, his skull illuminating. 

"Leo!" Jason shouted, "I can't keep the winds up for much longer. Piper's got her asleep but only for seconds. We can't-"

"I know!" The curly haired boy responded, "I can vaporize her! I have a plan! Don't worry! Just go!"

No. This can't happen. 

"No!" Jason told his friend, "We're staying here with you! Piper has the cure! We can-" 

"Hey." Leo grinned, "I told you I have a plan. When are you going to trust me? I love you guys. Tell Erie..." The boy sighed, giving his friends a sad smile, "I love her and that my promise'll have to be put on hold for now."

His friends couldn't say anything as the dragon's claws opened, dropping Jason and Piper. Erieanna watched on, her eyes wide with horror as she watched Leo grow brighter, the flames growing bigger. 

"L-Leo! Please!" She shouted, wanting him to hear her, "Don't! Leo!" 

"This is for you, Erieanna." Leo murmured, a wide smile on his face 

The last thing Erieanna remembered was seeing a bright white light before everything around her went dark.


	22. Chapter 22

Erieanna woke up from her dream with a start. She drew out labored breaths as she looked around her tent with wide eyes. 

Gwen stood by her hammock, holding the girl's hand in hers, "Are you okay, Anna?" 

"Y-yeah, fine." The girl responded, drawing her hand away from her friend's 

She noticed how shaky her hands were and how tears were falling from her eyes. She had to contact Leo. She had to know he was okay. She's been having this dream for far too long.

"Can you do me a favor, Gwen?" 

"Yes, of course." The former Fifth Cohort centurion responded, a soft smile on her face, "What do you need?"

"Can you keep watch for me? We have to leave in a little while for..." Erieanna took a deep breath before continuing, "I have to speak to someone before that. I need to make sure that Octavian or anyone else doesn't interrupt." 

Gwen nodded grimly, turning to go out of the tent. Erieanna watched her go and she took a second to calm herself down. She hated appearing weak around others. It was embarrassing enough to be weak. It was degrading when others saw her like this. 

She drew in a deep breath and then exhaled slowly before getting off of her hammock. She whispered an incantation, waving her hand over the air, watching as mist appeared in front of her. She learned this method of communication from Percy when they were back at Camp Jupiter. He had called it an Iris Message yet told her that there was now a new way to actually go about this communication.

"Oh Fleecy, do me a solid. Show Leo Valdez on the Argo II." 

Moments later, the curly-haired boy appeared in front of her, making repairs on the ship of his. Around her, the colors bloomed yet, they were not as vibrant as when Erieanna was with him. Nevertheless, it seemed as if Leo realized that too as he turned around and widened his eyes when he saw the daughter of Pluto.

"Erie! You're okay!" A wide grin spread over his face as he looked at her 

Erieanna felt tears quickly forming and she rubbed at her eyes, not wanting to cry again, "A-are you okay?" She murmured 

"Yeah, 'course I am. Wait, were you crying? What's wrong?" 

The girl sighed, shaking her head, "I've just been getting this reoccurring dream for the past couple of weeks. I've barely gotten any sleep as it is and when I do... I just can't sleep." 

"What's it about?"

"You burning up and dying." Erieanna murmured, shaking her head, "I watched you as you just... I just...I'm scared that it'll actually happen. Leo, you don't deserve to die." She whispered, swiping away the stray tears that were falling down her cheeks 

She didn't give him any true details. Even after all the times that she's had this dream, she still didn't know what to do with it. Especially the ending of it. He had told Jason and Piper to tell Erieanna that he loved her. How could he love her? They barely knew each other. They haven't had the time to get to know each other like they're supposed to. 

"Hey, hey," The boy told her, a sad smile on his face as he watched her, "I'm not gonna die, especially since I know that you'll most likely go to the Underworld and kill me once again for backing down on our promise like that." His smile widened as he watched Erieanna giggle a bit at his comment, "I'm coming back for you, I promise. You're not getting rid of me that easily, I promise you." 

"You really know how to bring a girl up, don't you, Repair Boy?" Erieanna smiled softly 

"Anything to make my girl happy." Leo responded 

"Your girl?" The daughter of Pluto asked, a blush heating her cheeks 

"Too soon?" He asked her 

"No, no, it's just-"

A whistle sounded from outside of the tent. That was most likely Gwen signaling that Octavian was approaching. Erieanna felt dread forming at the pit of her stomach. 

Erieanna shook her head, turning back to Leo, "It's nothing. We'll be marching on your camp in a short notice. For both of our camp's sake, I hope that Reyna returns on time."

The boy smiled sadly, "Take care of yourself, Erie. I'll be coming for you soon enough." He promised her 

"Until then, Leo." She gave him a soft smile before swiping her hand through the mist, watching as the image of the curly haired boy dissipated 

Erieanna turned around when her name was called out from outside the tent, Octavian walking in seconds later. He stopped after noticing that she was already up. 

"Need anything?" She asked him

He narrowed his eyes at her before clearing his throat, "We set for the Graecus's camp in fifteen minutes. Be ready by then." 

She watched him as he turned and left the tent, her eyes glaring at his back as he retreated. Gwen walked into the camp after the scrawny boy left, her eyes asking Erieanna a question. 

"I'm fine." The younger girl told her friend, smiling softly, "Thank you. Now, let's prepare for war."


	23. Chapter 23

Erieanna stood at the front of the Roman army, her armor strapped to her body tightly. On her left stood Khatija, on her right was Gwen. Octavian was nowhere in sight yet, she knew where he was. All the way in the back of the legion in the command tent, probably enjoying his breakfast, waiting for the troops to destroy Camp Half-Blood before coming out and declaring the victory to be his. She was grateful her friend was with her. She didn't trust the blood thirsty Emperor but at least with her friends by her side, she was reassured. 

Erieanna had gotten to know Khatija over the past month. She was a centurion of the First Cohort yet was nowhere as self-centered and egoistic as the rest of them in her cohort. She was a Pakistani girl that came from Virginia, a daughter of Apollo. She was a great person, an amazing strategist and was exceptionally skilled with a bow and arrow. 

Gwen had been with Erieanna for ten years at Camp Jupiter. Although she was no longer the Fifth Cohort's centurion, she was still very active in the camp. Erieanna was grateful that the girl agreed to help her. 

Erieanna had gotten word from Dakota that Reyna had returned earlier on. The daughter of Pluto promised that she'd delay Octavian as much as possible. She shadowtraveled many times, making the monsters rise up against themselves. It depleted her energy but anything to prevent this war from happening. 

At one point, Erieanna could have sworn she had seen Nico by the onagers. She couldn't do anything about it because one of the centaurs was noticing her so she had to melt back into the shadows, appearing in the midst of Romans instead. It was probably the restlessness she was experiencing. It wasn't possible that her brother was there. 

At another point, the legion seemed to be in disarray. Erieanna turned around from the front, narrowing her eyes, not liking the commotion that was sounding. The girl locked eyes with the centurions of each cohort, expecting them to fix the issues within their own ranks. Quickly, the noise died down. 

Not long after, disarray occurred in the First Cohort where the onagers were closest to. Erieanna told Khatija and Gwen to take her place for the time being before shadowtraveling to where the noise sounded, her eyes slightly widening when she saw her brother with two other boys and a girl. 

"Nico?" She asked 

The pale boy looked back at her, "Erieanna."

She was interrupted from saying anything else as Octavian appeared, wearing a gold laurel over his head with a dark purple robe over his armor and Imperial Gold jewelry around his neck and arms. Beside him was Jacob, the legion's standard-bearer, carrying the golden eagle while six cynocephali, canine monsters, stood behind them, their teeth barred.

The scrawny boy looked over at Erieanna expectantly. When the girl did nothing, he growled, turning over to the canine monsters, "Tear them apart."

Nico readied his sword while Erieanna just stood frozen, not knowing what to do. It had been so long since she had seen her brother. He now seemed so out of energy, it made her question whether he was truly there with her. 

One of the boys with Nico, a tall one with light hair and eyes, made a painful taxicab whistle. Erieanna watched as the six monsters fell down to the ground, howling in agony. Nico waded through the monsters, jabbing at each of them with his sword, each dissolving into shadows. The Romans around them didn't move, too stunned to react. 

"My elite guard!" Octavian exclaimed in shock, looking over at Erieanna as if expecting her to burst out in tears because of what had happened. Angry, he turned to Nico, "Why in Pluto are you fighting for the Greeks, DiAngelo? What have they ever done for you?" 

The shorter boy looked over at his sister. Erieanna was just quiet, appreciating this distraction. She only wished Reyna would hurry up. Octavian may very well at any moment tell the daughter of Pluto to execute her brother and the Greeks and that would be when she would be unveiled as a traitor to the legion. 

The son of Hades then turned back to Octavian, "I'm fighting for the Greeks and Romans."

"Pathetic." The scrawny boy responded before turning to the First Cohort and picking out four soldiers, "Check on the onagers. I want them to fire as soon as possible. Go!" 

The Romans hurried off, Erieanna's hands clenching at her sides. Octavian was absolutely fine with a mass murder. He wasn't fit to rule the Romans. 

"I can beat any offer the Graeci can give you, DiAngelo. I will give you a place in New Rome. With your sister, Erieanna." Octavian gestured over to the daughter of Pluto beside him, "All you need to do is step aside and let the Romans win."

"Your way is not right." Nico stated 

"Then you are of no use to me." The supposed Emperor seethed, "I will lead the legion to victory, and I will start by-"At that moment, the onagers fires at once, "By destroying the Greeks! This is the end of Camp Half-Blood!"


	24. Chapter 24

Erieanna now knew why Nico had risked coming into their army with the three other Greeks. All six onagers had off-course projectiles. Rather than hitting the Greek camp, they hit each other, turning into what seemed like fireworks in the sky. 

Moments later, rather than feeling the heat of the explosions on her face, Erieanna assessed that there was no serious damage. 

Octavian shouted for the onagers to be reloaded but no one in the First Cohort moved. The monsters downhill were getting restless. They were expecting to eat demigod for breakfast. This failure was making them unsettled. 

At the sound of footsteps on her right, Erieanna turned her head, watching as the Fifth Cohort marched forward, Dakota at the head. The daughter of Pluto was pleased. This was their signal. 

The girl flicked her wrist, her Stygian iron sword emerging, "Octavian, we have new orders." She told him

The scrawny boy narrowed his eyes at her, glaring at her, "From who?"

"From Reyna." Dakota stood beside the daughter of Pluto, saying the words loud enough for the First Cohort to hear it perfectly, "She has ordered us to stand down." 

"Reyna?" Octavian laughed loudly, "You mean the ex-praetor that you were supposed to imprison? The one that aided this Graecus," He tried pointing over at Nico but Erieanna brought her sword up to shield her brother, "in bringing about the doom of our legion?"

"Reyna is praetor until voted otherwise in the Senate." Erieanna responded, standing beside her brother, "You have no power, Octavian. They listen to me. Do not try to put the Romans against each other." 

"I have no power?" The scrawny boy grinned maliciously, "I was going to give you everything you ever wanted with you as my right hand, Erieanna. You dare defy the Emperor? I will save Rome! Romans, follow my orders! Arrest Erieanna! Arrest Dakota! Execute these Graecus scum and reload the onagers!" 

Members from the First Cohort were uneasy as they looked between the augur and the daughter of Pluto. Erieanna gripped the handle of her sword tightly, ready to fight if it were to come to that. 

Their attention was diverted to a horn sounding from atop of the hill. A buff girl was at the front on a chariot pulled by metal horses. About a hundred demigods spanned our behind her, fauns, nature spirits, Cyclopes, and centaurs doubling their amount. 

"Romans! You have fired on our camp!" The girl at the from yelled, "Yield or be destroyed!"

Erieanna's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. This was exactly what Octavian wanted. The Romans now would not listen to peace efforts. 

"Where is Reyna?" Erieanna asked her brother pointedly, "We don't have time for this!"

Octavian was ordering the legion to charge before the tall boy beside Nico whistled louder and more piercing than before. 

"Don't be stupid!" The boy yelled, "Look!"

Erieanna's eyes followed where the boy's finger was pointing, almost wanting to grin when she saw Reyna on the back of a Pegasus with her sword drawn, other Pegasi behind her supporting the weight of the Athena Parthenos. 

"Greek demigods!" Reyna yelled, "I have restored your most sacred statue, the Athena Parthenos, wrongfully stolen by the ancient Romans, as a means to restore peace between our two camps." 

Erieanna looked over at Nico, almost being taken aback by the wide smile on her brother's lips. He must have been counting on her to succeed. They both were. 

Everyone watched as the Athena Parthenos settled on the hill, about twenty feet away from the large pine tree that sat on the same spot. Instantly, gold light rippled across the ground. Both armies were frozen, dumbfounded, as they looked up at the beautifully intimidating forty-foot-tall gold and ivory statue. 

"Romans!" The praetor turned her attention over to the legionnaires, "I do this to protect Rome! To protect our legion! We must band together with the Greeks and stand as one!" 

A FUTILE GESTURE. 

That voice was booming, shaking the earth itself. It was frightening to say the least. 

"Close ranks!" Erieanna yelled

BUT, IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY, YOU WILL DIE TOGETHER.

The Greeks and the Romans closed in on each other, standing shoulder to shoulder. The monsters surrounded then, making the demigod army seem as if it were mere a speck. On Erieanna's left stood Nico, Reyna, and the girl that had been leading the Greeks. On her right were Khatija and Tyson, Percy's Cyclops brother. Reyna looked over at the daughter of Pluto and nodded in assurance. 

"Demigods!" Erieanna yelled, hoping her voice could be heard over the large mass, "Advance!"


	25. Chapter 25

It was complete chaos after that. Erieanna shadowtraveled all the way around the demigod army, helping the soldiers fight the monsters. She didn't care about how quickly she was losing her energy. They needed to win. 

The main forces of the Greek army along with the First and Fifth Cohorts were formed around the Athena Parthenos, the golden eagle of the legion with them. The Second, Third, and Fourth Cohorts were in defensive formation a couple hundred feet from the rest and they were the ones taking the brunt of the attack. 

Erieanna thought that she could withstand the energy sapped from her when she shadowtraveled until she collapsed against the tall boy that Nico had been with. He looked surprised for a second before getting annoyed. 

"What is up with you and your brother wanting to kill yourselves?" He grumbled, reaching into one of his pockets and taking out a piece of gum, "Take this and no more shadowtraveling for you." 

Erieanna narrowed her eyes at him, noticing how he didn't flinch away. Guess he had practice with Nico. 

"I'm Will Solace, a healer and son of Apollo. All that energy traveling cost you," He shook his head as he helped her up, "That'll help you with energy for a couple hours but don't count on traveling any time soon." 

Before she could object, he ran over to Nico, helping him with the monsters that were surrounding him. She chewed on the gum while slashing her sword against the monsters, enjoying how they dissipated into shadows. She stood alongside Reyna, grateful that her best friend was back. The two fought hard as as one, as they always did. 

The colors around her started to become noticeable and Erieanna felt her heart rising up to her mouth in nervousness and happiness. Leo was here. 

She looked up as she saw a grey dragon, most likely Frank, carrying Percy and Annabeth in its claws. Jason was coming down with Piper. Parts of the Argo II were being burned away and the girl frowned. That was odd. 

Jason and Piper landed on the hill and a cheer sounded from both the Greeks and Romans. Erieanna chanced a soft smile, glad they had arrived to aid in the battle. 

"It was about time!" Reyna shouted 

"We had to kill some giants!" Piper responded, a grin on her face 

"Help yourself to some barbarians then!" Reyna returned the smile, her eyes crinkling on her sides 

The two launched into battle, side by side. Erieanna went over to her best friend, hugging him tightly. The son of Jupiter hugged her back, pulling back to give her a wide smile. She returned the smile, feeling ecstatic that he was finally with her. 

"Where's Leo?" She asked him 

His smile faltered a bit yet was still there, "He's coming down soon. We have a plan for Gaea, don't worry." 

Erieanna looked above her at the Greek trireme. She hoped to the bottom of her heart that her dream wasn't going to come true. She couldn't lose Leo. 

"How about we kill some monsters?" Jason asked her

"I thought you'd never ask." She smiled at him

The two went into battle, standing back to back and protecting each other if they needed it. At one point Nico had joined them. He and Jason said some words to one another before Will took Nico away for something.  

Erieanna was feeling invigorated. The rush of battle always made her feel this way. The demigod army pushed the monsters back yet, Gaea seemed to be bringing more monsters as a surprise for the soldiers. 

"Erieanna!" She turned her head to see Frank calling her over, "We have to form ranks!" 

She widened her eyes and nodded, looking over at her best friend in apology. He grinned and shook his head, assuring her that he was fine. 

"Ave, Praetor Zhang!" Reyna called 

Erieanna stood behind Frank as he shouted, "Ave, Praetor Ramírez-Arellano!"

"Legion!" Erieanna yelled, "Close ranks!" 

The Romans cheered as each cohort got into perfect formation. Frank pointed his sword forward and, from the golden eagle, bolts of lightning were shot out, disintegrating hundreds of monsters in the process. 

"Cuneum formate!" Erieanna shouted, bringing her sword up, "Advance!" 

On her right, Erieanna watched as Percy and Annabeth reunited with the army of Camp Half-Blood, cheers erupting from the Greeks.

"Let's fight stuff!" Percy yelled 

Erieanna watched in almost horror as the Greeks yelled in enthusiasm, charging alongside the Romans. She had seen this type of fighting from Percy but hundreds of Greeks was just terrifying to look at.


	26. Chapter 26

Erieanna felt uneasiness settle at the pit of her stomach as the ground underneath her feet started to shift. She hated anything that wasn't steady and that didn't have a good foundation. That's why she hated flying and could barely tolerate water. 

AWAKE. 

The daughter of Pluto widened her eyes, watching as a twenty-foot-tall woman emerged from the ground, her dress woven from grass, her skin deathly white, her hair brown and tangled like tree roots. 

Fear washed over the two demigod armies as they looked up at Gaea. Erieanna herself felt helpless against the Earth Mother. Never in all her years had she ever imagined that she'd see one of the eldest mythical beings rise once again. 

"Greeks and Romans!" Piper shouted. The daughter of Pluto turned her attention to the daughter of Aphrodite, her voice so compelling, "We can fight her together! We have to!"

Gaea laughed. Her arms rose from her sides and the Earth seemed to be sucking at Erieanna's feet. The girl almost wanted to scream out in fear. She did not like this one bit. 

"The whole earth is my body," Gaea stated, "How would you fight the goddess of-"

It was if Erieanna was watching the scene in slow motion. With wide eyes, she watched on as Gaea was snatch up from the ground in a claw of a large metallic dragon. The dragon spewed fire triumphantly as the demigods cheered it on. On its back sat Leo, the curly haired Latino boy grinning widely from ear to ear. He called for Jason and Piper to follow him. He then searched the grounds. When his eyes landed on Erieanna, his smile widened, winking at her. She felt as if her worst nightmare was coming true. It was. 

Around her, Erieanna noticed many demigods buried waist-deep into the soil from Gaea moving the earth around. The monsters were quickly digging themselves out, eager to have the demigods for breakfast. Her attention was on something else first. 

She watched as Jason wrapped an arm around his girlfriend and she called for him to stop, "I can help! Leo'll-" 

"Frank can carry us all up there!" Percy yelled from where he was with the Greek demigods 

"We can't." Frank shook his head, grabbing Erieanna's arm, Hazel appearing beside him, "This is their fight. We need you guys here. We still have our own fight." 

Erieanna felt dread spread all over her body. She looked around her. The demigods were struggling to regroup. They looked scared yet determined. 

She turned to Jason, trying to push back her tears, "Leo has to be okay. He-"

"He's going to be okay." Piper reassured her through her charmspeak, Erieanna feeling a wave of relief washing over her, "Now, go help everyone else. They need you."

Erieanna nodded, watching as Jason and Piper shot up into the sky. She then turned to the demigods still stuck in the ground. Frank and Hazel watched her, confusion laced in their expressions, as she knelt down, pressing her hands against the soil. Erieanna closed her eyes and murmured an incantation. 

The cheers that sounded gave Erieanna the validation she needed that her spell worked. She opened her eyes as she stood up, a small smile as she looked around her, the demigods all up. The girl stumbled a bit as she tried to walk but Frank pulled her upright.

"Are you okay?" He asked his friend 

She took a deep breath and nodded, "Let's win this war." 

The three demigods joined the two armies as they fought alongside each other against the monsters. Now without Gaea to give them strength, no more monsters appeared out of nowhere. Erieanna was grateful for that. 

She stood at the front with a mixture of Greek and Roman leaders. She felt empowered. With ever monster that came at the demigods, tens more died. 

Reyna and Frank shouted orders at the legion who responded with enthusiastic yells. The Greeks were led by Percy and Annabeth. They screamed like banshees into battle but their enthusiasm made up for their disorderly manner. 

Erieanna dared not look up at the sky. That would only confirm her nightmare. Piper assured her that Leo would be fine. Nothing would happen to him. Everything was going to be okay. 

She would have lived with not looking at the sky if it wasn't for the firing of an onager. She chanced looking up, her eyes widening as she saw a fiery comet flying towards the ball of fire that was the metallic dragon Leo had been on.


	27. Chapter 27

"No!" She shouted, watching as the comet collided with the ball of fire, an explosion sounding not even seconds after, "Leo!" 

Frank enveloped her in his arms before she could do anything rash. Erieanna's heart broke in two as all she saw was smoke. He couldn't be gone. He can't. 

"We have to help him! He's going to die!" She cried out

Erieanna struggles against Frank's hold but he just held her tighter. There was no way she'd let Leo leave her. Not after so much time of waiting. Waiting for the time to reunite with one another once again. 

Over the past month and a half, Erieanna had been able to realize her feelings for Leo. The gods may have made the two soulmates but, her feelings for the boy were finally, truly, genuine. Her constant worrying for the boy made her realize it. He was annoying, insufferable, impractical but he had managed to catch her heart. 

The times that she had been able to speak to him, a glimmer of happiness arose. He really did make her happy. He was what made this war bearable. True, she was fighting alongside her friends to fight Gaea and her monsters but, she had been looking forward to seeing the son of Hephaestus. She wanted to tell him how much he meant to her, how much she had missed him. He was just far too amazing of a person to not miss. 

All those nights Erieanna had that nightmare of Leo, all she could think of at that moment was not the scenes playing out so perfectly. The image in her head as she struggled against Frank was Leo smiling at Jason and Piper as he told them that he loved Erieanna. She doubted those words before. Now, all she wanted was him to tell that to her over and over again if that guaranteed him being with her rather than the inevitable.

She watched as Jason and Piper were dropped down to the ground by giant eagles. They were unconscious, most likely from the blast of the explosion. Her heart sunk further down. Leo was nowhere in sight. 

In Frank's arms, Erieanna screwed her eyes shut. She couldn't cry. Especially not around others. She despised appearing weak. 

"He didn't want you to be up there." Frank told her softly, "He wanted you safe, down here." 

If the son of Hephaestus had the audacity to leave her... He was right. She was going to kill him when she saw him in the Underworld. He told her he was going to be okay. That everything was going to be fine. 

Erieanna didn't have the time to finish her thought. Murmurs and shouts from the demigods around her made her pull away from Frank to see what the commotion was. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened in shock when she saw Leo's body falling through the sky. 

Erieanna turned around, trying to find Jason but, the boy was still unconscious. She could save Leo. 

Melting back into the shadows, Erieanna grabbed the back of Leo's shirt in her hand. She pulled the unconscious boy to her body, not caring for the fact that he was slightly burning her. He needed to be okay. 

Using the last bit of her energy, Erieanna shadowtraveled once more, landing on her back on the ground. Around her, she heard the commotion of people surrounding the two demigods. Incredulous, Erieanna noticed that the color around her was no longer there, even if Leo was right there with her.

"Erie!" Hazel fell down to the ground beside Erieanna, "Are you okay?"

Erieanna could hear her sister's voice as if it were miles away. The world around her was spinning, most likely because of her exhausting her powers. At the back of her mind, the daughter of Pluto realized that she didn't have her Stygian iron sword in her hand. She must have dropped it when she was going after Leo. 

Leo. 

Erieanna was holding the boy close to her but, it felt as if he wasn't even there. She didn't feel any sign of life from him. It was if he just wasn't even there with her. As a daughter of Pluto, Erieanna could feel death. It was one of her curses. This death hurt her way too much. 

Hazel's voice was far too distant for Erieanna to hear. From one moment to the next, the daughter of Pluto lost consciousness.


	28. Chapter 28

When Erieanna woke up, she felt as though a mass of bricks was weighing down on her. Her eyes flew open and she coughed loudly. Her mouth felt as if she hadn't drunken something in months. Her bones were stiff and hard to move. 

"Hey, hey." Coming into view was no one other than Leo Valdez, "Breathe. I'm here." 

Erieanna watched incredulously as Leo reached over to get a cup, filling it with what looked like nectar, "Will told me that if you wake up and he's not here to give you this. It eases away the pain." 

The son of Hephaestus smiled down at her, tipping the cup down to help her drink more easily. Erieanna closed her eyes and exhaled happily. The nectar tasted of her mother's gumbo from back in New Orleans. 

Leo took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. Erieanna opened her eyes, looking up at him with a genuine smile. The color around her was so vibrant. She had her boy back. 

Before either of them could say anything, Will Solace walked over to them. The tall boy gave Erieanna a soft smile, his eyes glancing only momentarily at the two's conjoined hands. 

"How are you feeling, Erieanna?" He asked her 

"As if I was pummeled down by monsters." She groaned out 

Leo laughed beside her and that made her smile. She missed his laugh. 

"Well, you're lucky." Will responded, his smile growing, "I don't know how you conjured up the energy to travel when I specifically told you not to but, I'm glad you're okay. You suffered some injuries from the battle itself but, nothing that-" He stopped when he saw Nico walking over with a bag of Doritos before clearing his throat and turning back to Erieanna, "Nothing that nectar couldn't help. You're really strong, you know that?" 

"Over a decade in the legion can do that to you. And I had an incentive," Erieanna squeezed Leo's hand, a small smile on her face before turning back to the son of Apollo and her brother, "How long have I been out?"

"Three days." Nico said, handing Will the chips, "We were all really worried. I'm glad you're okay." 

Her brother and Will stayed with Erieanna and Leo for the next five minutes before Nico stated that he'd go and tell their friends the good news while Will excused himself as he needed to go around and help others in need. He reassured her that she was fine to leave if she wanted to, she just needed rest more than anything.

Erieanna and Leo were alone. At least, as alone as you could be in a tent full of demigods. The son of Hephaestus helped her up from the hammock she was in and was there for her as she groaned at the soreness from being in bed for so long. 

"I need a well-deserved shower and then I can kill you." She told Leo

"That's understandable." The boy responded, a shit-eating grin on his face, his arm around her waist as he led her out of the tent 

The weeks Erieanna spent scouting a Camp Half-Blood didn't compare to her actually walking through it. All around her, Greeks and Romans grinned at her, telling her about how glad they were that she was okay and about how she's missed so much. She had gotten to see Percy and Jason walking around out of boredom while Reyna, Piper, Annabeth, and Khatija went around, making sure that everything was up to date. Frank and Hazel went around with Chiron, helping the demigods, but, when Hazel saw her sister, she insisted that she accompany her and Leo over to the Hades cabin. 

"I'll be right here." Leo told Erieanna, leaning down to kiss her cheek 

A soft blush spread across her cheeks and she nodded, following after Hazel into the cabin. The younger sister raised her eyebrow inquisitively, making Erieanna's blush grow hotter. 

"What?" She asked 

"Nothing." Hazel giggled, reaching over to a dresser, taking out clothes Erieanna's size before passing it over to her, "I was just wondering when you were going to tell us about you and Leo."

The daughter of Pluto blushed harder, walking into the bathroom, "Uh.. I'll just see you after I shower."

The girl took a quick shower, keeping in mind that Hazel and Leo were waiting for her. 

A pair of black leggings were waiting for Erieanna along with a clean Camp Jupiter shirt and flip flops. She walked out of the bathroom to see Hazel and Leo sitting on opposite beds. Leo looked up and grinned as he saw her. 

"Dinner'll be sounded soon. Wanna maybe-"

He was interrupted by a horn sounding. The boy's head hung low, as if annoyed by the sound. A small smile played on her lips as she watched him. He had seemed so excited about something. 

"That just totally killed my vibe." He shook his head, reaching out for her to take his hand, "I guess I'll show you around camp after dinner and the campfire. Think that's alright?" 

Erieanna smiled, taking his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together, "I think that'll be amazing." 

Hazel giggled from behind them, "You must be working something on her, Leo. I don't think I've ever seen her smile so much."


	29. Chapter 29

At dinner, Erieanna sat at a table with Nico and Hazel. The boy explained to her that the dining pavilion was divided by godly parent. It bothered her. It wasn't like at Camp Jupiter where the cohorts sat together. This felt as if they were classifying you. 

At the campfire, it was more laid back. With an arm around her shoulders, Leo introduced Erieanna to his Greek friends as music played by the children of Apollo run around the Amphitheater. Many of them recognized her from the battle and congratulated her while others joked around with her. The night was filled with many laughs and smiles, the Greeks and Romans getting along with each other just fine. 

Erieanna sat on a log with Leo between her legs, her fingers running through his curly hair as they sat amongst the rest of the Seven along with some Roman friends. Reyna sat with them, Khatija beside her, at times whispering in the praetor's ear and the two smiling at one another. Erieanna was happy that her best friend found someone. The daughter of Bellona seemed genuinely happy, something that Erieanna hadn't seen in the longest time. 

Percy teased Erieanna and Leo, asking them when their first date would be or if they'd already skipped that. The daughter of Pluto only blushed widely, shaking her head at her friend while Leo laughed, telling their friends that the invitation to their wedding would be handed out soon enough. He earned a slap to the back of his head for that. 

Piper pointed out all the colors for Erieanna, Jason beside her and looking at the two girls with a fond smile. Fascinated, Erieanna couldn't stop repeating the names of the colors. Leo watched her with a fond smile, his eyes never leaving her. The girl looked as if she was looking at the world in a whole new perspective. It was far too adorable.

Nico sat with Will Solace, a scene that made Erieanna smile. He seemed to have warmed up to the son of Apollo, something hard to do with the boy that didn't think he belong anywhere. 

At one point, Reyna and Frank went to the front, declaring that the Romans would be leaving the following day. Leo looked up at Erieanna worriedly but, she continued to play with his hair, as if reassuring him that it'll be okay. 

Erieanna liked the ambiance of this camp. It felt very... homey, very welcoming. She didn't want to leave it just yet. Maybe Reyna would let her stay, at least for a little while. 

"I'll be right back." Erieanna whispered into Leo's ear 

The son of Hephaestus looked up at her, confusion laced in his expression but he nodded, his lips spreading into a smile. She smiled back at him before standing up and walking over to Reyna and Frank who were returning from the pulpit of the amphitheater. 

"Can I stay at this camp for a little longer?" She asked them

Frank and Reyna glanced at each other and the daughter of Pluto quickly added in before they could object, "I-it wouldn't be for too long! It's just...Will told me I shouldn't be shadowtraveling for a while and the people here are just so great and, believe it or not, their army really needs shaping up to do and-"

"Erieanna." Reyna interrupted her, a hint of a smile on her lips, "We had already elected for you to stay."

"I know, I understand but," Erieanna stopped herself, finally registering what her friend had said, "Wait, what?"

Frank chuckled, "We talked to Chiron, Percy and Annabeth and they agreed. We needed someone to be Camp Jupiter's ambassador to Camp Half-Blood, someone with much knowledge about our camp. Nico stepped down from his position, electing to stay here but, he advocated for you and, we agreed. We were going to tell you later on but, I guess better sooner than later." 

"And, at the next Feast of Fortuna, it is undoubtably that you'll become one of our next praetors." Reyna told her, "You've deserved that position for years now." 

The daughter of Pluto almost burst out crying. She couldn't believe that honor was bestowed upon her. She pulled both of her friends in for a hug, one that they returned with laughs from both of them. When they pulled away, Erieanna just smiled at them before turning around to go back to her friends.


	30. Chapter 30

After the campfire, the demigods had an hour of free time to do whatever they wanted. Erieanna's friends suggested that they hang out atop of Half-Blood Hill but Leo quickly objected for her, telling them that he had promised her some time alone. 

Leo led Erieanna by their conjoined hands into the camp's forest. She frowned softly, "I thought you were going to give me a tour of the camp." 

The boy grinned, looking back at her, "Tomorrow, I promise. I have something better to show you."

She looked at him through weary eyes as he continued to lead her through the forest. It was about a twenty minute walk until they finally stopped in front of what looked like a bunker. She frowned before watching as Leo conjured up a ball of fire, throwing it at the door. It opened up and the son of Hephaestus grinned over at the teenage girl. 

"After you." He told her

"I swear to the gods Leo, if you're leading me to my death-" 

"Stop being a baby. I'm right here." 

She rolled her eyes but walked in. The moment she did, the lights around the bunker lit up all at once, music playing softly in the background. Erieanna's breath was taken away. The bunker was probably longer than a football field, aligned with work tables, blueprints, mechanic parts all over the place. It had a gorgeous orange-brownish glow to it, making it seem almost romantic. 

"This is where I found Festus and also where I built him into the Argo II. My siblings are usually here, sometimes even without me but, I got them to stay out for the hour." Leo stated

Erieanna turned around to look at the son of Hephaestus, a lump forming in her throat. They were finally alone but, for some reason, all she could feel was sadness. 

"What's wrong?" The boy asked her, rushing over to her 

Erieanna quickly blinked back the tears forming in her eyes, "I lost you."

Leo's mouth opened slightly in realization. He pulled her into his arms, holding her close to him. The girl screwed her eyes shut, not wanting to cry in front of him. There was no reason to cry. He was right in front of her. 

"I told the rest of the Seven to keep you away from the ship no matter what happened." He said softly, "When we were on the quest, we had gotten a physician's cure that could have saved me, that did save me. Erie," He pulled away from the hug to hold her cheeks in his hands, "I knew I'd come back to you. I was never going to leave you. I hope you know that. I made a promise to you." 

Erieanna looked up at the son of Hephaestus, gripping the sides of his shirt, "For a second there, I thought that promise would be put on pause." 

Leo laughed, pulling her back into a hug. She laughed in response, burying her face into his chest. He made everything better. 

"Hey, I wanna show you something." He told her, pulling away and taking her hand in his 

Erieanna followed him through the workshop, smiling as he pointed things out. He had a grin on his face as he did so, as if proud of everything. It made her happy. He seemed so at peace here. The music that was playing was turned up by the son of Hephaestus as he said that he liked the song that was currently playing. With the volume that it was at, Erieanna was wondering whether the boy would become deaf at any moment. 

Leo led her up a ladder leading to the roof of the bunker. The girl chewed on the inside of her cheek, nervous but smiling gratefully as the son of Hephaestus offered her a hand. 

They sat side by side atop the roof, looking up at the sky. Trees littered around the bunker but the space of the bunker itself had enough space for the stars to show. 

"This reminds me of the day we met." Erieanna murmured 

Leo smiled, turning his head to look over at her, "I think I can do one better than that day." 

"How?" She asked him

The son of Hephaestus grinned widely before leaning down to press his lips against hers. Erieanna let out a squeak of surprise before closing her eyes and kissing him back. The teenagers smiled against each other's lips, as if saying finally. 

Before the kiss could continue any longer, cheers sounded from underneath them. Erieanna pulled away from the kiss first to look down below them, widening her eyes when she saw that the rest of the Seven and many other of their Greek and Roman friends were grinning up at them. 

"Well it's about time!" Percy shouted, laughing with an arm around Annabeth 

The Stoll brothers, whom Erieanna had quickly gotten fond of at the campfire, were calling them down to celebrate the two teenagers finally kissing. Reyna had a knowing smile on her face as she looked up at the two, her hand laced with Khatija's. 

Erieanna blushed, shaking her head at them. 

"Party in Bunker 9 tonight!" The son of Hephaestus shouted gleefully 

The demigods cheered in response, rushing into the bunker. Erieanna could get used to this ambiance. 

Leo laughed, turning over at the girl, "How 'bout we join them?" 

"We're never going to live this down." She sighed, shaking her head as she followed him down the ladder 

"Hey," Leo grinned, bringing her close to him and pressing his lips against hers in a passionate kiss at the base of the ladder, "I love you." 

Erieanna's heart skipped a few beats as she let out an almost strangled sigh. The weeks that she dreamt of him saying those three words were nothing compared to him saying that to her in person. 

"I love you." She responded, bringing him down for another kiss, a wide smile on her face


End file.
